Catalyst

[Keera]

I do not know if "catalyst" is modern enough, but my dictionary does not have it.

What should "catalyst" be in Latin?

 

[Akela]

This is interesting.

I wonder, if "stimulant" (stimulus) would be a proper alternative?

 

[JaimeB]

Why not just have Latin borrow it from Greek καταλύτης?

 

[Akela]

I have never studied Greek, but since Cyrillic alphabet is based on Greek...

Would this be "catalyths"? Or am I totally off?

 

[scrabulista]

Akela, that's an eta (which can look like an h), but it's a long e. eta = [e-long:3dxp3aj6][/e-long:3dxp3aj6]; epsilon = [e-short:3dxp3aj6][/e-short:3dxp3aj6]; omicron = [o-short:3dxp3aj6][/o-short:3dxp3aj6]; omega = [o-long:3dxp3aj6][/o-long:3dxp3aj6].

I don't know if you would write it as catalyt[e-long:3dxp3aj6][/e-long:3dxp3aj6]s though.

The only word that Perseus has ending in -lytes is [o-long:3dxp3aj6][/o-long:3dxp3aj6]d[i-long:3dxp3aj6][/i-long:3dxp3aj6]nolytes, with an alternate spelling of: [o-long:3dxp3aj6][/o-long:3dxp3aj6]d[y-long:3dxp3aj6][/y-long:3dxp3aj6]nolytes. It's first declension (genitive -ae), masculine, "he who/that which alleviates the pangs of childbirth."

A *long* time ago, someone asked about 1st declension nouns ending in -as and -es. The ones usually listed in grammars are proper names like Aeneas and Anchises.

 

[Diaphanus]

The problem with καταλύτης is that it is not the etymon of catalyst.

Its etymon is catalysis, from κατάλυσις, but formed on the analogy of analyst (from analyze/analyse, which would be regularly *analysize/*analysise, from analysis, ἀνάλυσις; the -st was thought to have some connection with the -ist suffix, which is -ista in Latin).

So, some suggestions are catalysta (if following that analogy) or catalysista (catalysis + -ista) if not. I like the first one better.

 

[Akela]

So, some suggestions are catalysta (if following that analogy) or catalysista (catalysis + -ista) if not. I like the first one better.

I like "catalysta". We could consider keeping "K" for authenticity purposes...