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DictionaryRoot: thermē
Greek

thermē

heat

Forms

  • thermē
  • therm- — Used before other endings.
  • thermo- — Used with a linking o.

Origin

From an ancient Indo-European warming family.

Note

The root names heat without specifying a particular temperature.

3 / 5
A sealed hand-warmer packet is shown with heat arrows moving OUT toward a nearby hand and a rising thermometer cue; exothermic release, no preparation steps.
adjective

exothermic

eks-oh-THUR-mik/ˌeksəʊˈθɜːrmɪk/

Releasing heat during a chemical reaction or physical process.

Etymology
exoGreekoutside
+thermGreekheat
+icEnglishconnected with or characteristic of

“Outside” and “heat” describe heat passing out of a process into its surroundings. The word therefore identifies a release of heat, not simply a process that is hot.

Full entry

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