dialysis

English

Etymology

Dated in the late 16th century C.E.; from Latin dialysis, from Ancient Greek διάλυσις (diálusis). By surface analysis, dia- +‎ -lysis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /daɪˈælɪsɪs/
• Hyphenation: di‧al‧y‧sis

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

Noun

dialysis (countable and uncountable, plural dialyses)

1. (chemistry) A method of separating molecules or particles of different sizes by differential diffusion through a semipermeable membrane.
2. (medicine) Use of this method for removal of waste products from the blood in the case of kidney failure: hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis.

   Coordinate term: artificial kidney

   • 2013 June 1, “A better waterworks”, in The Economist‎^[1], volume 407, number 8838, page 5 (Technology Quarterly):

     An artificial kidney these days still means a refrigerator-sized dialysis machine. Such devices mimic the way real kidneys cleanse blood and eject impurities and surplus water as urine.

3. (rhetoric) The spelling out of alternatives, or presenting of either-or arguments that lead to a conclusion.
4. (rhetoric) Asyndeton.

Derived terms

• cyclodialysis
• dialyse
• dialytic
• dialytically
• dialyze
• electrodialysis
• haemodialysis
• hemodialysis
• histodialysis
• iridodialysis
• lithodialysis
• microdialysis
• nephrodialysis
• nondialysis
• peridialysis
• peritoneal dialysis
• postdialysis
• predialysis
• retrodialysis
• underdialysis

 

Translations

chemical method

• Bulgarian: диализа f (dializa)
• Catalan: diàlisi f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 透析 (zh) (tòuxī), 滲析／渗析 (zh) (shènxī)

• Finnish: dialyysi (fi)
• French: dialyse (fr) f
• German: Dialyse (de) f
• Hungarian: dialízis (hu)
• Italian: dialisi (it) f
• Japanese: 透析 (ja) (とうせき, tōseki)
• Malay: dialisis (ms)
• Russian: диа́лиз (ru) m (diáliz)
• Spanish: diálisis f

medicine: artificial removal of waste products from the blood

• Bulgarian: диализа f (dializa)
• Catalan: diàlisi f
• Czech: dialýza (cs) f
• Finnish: dialyysi (fi)
• French: dialyse (fr)
• German: Dialyse (de) f
• Hungarian: dialízis (hu), művesekezelés
• Italian: dialisi (it) f
• Malay: dialisis (ms)
• Spanish: diálisis f
• Turkish: diyaliz (tr)

rhetoric: spelling out of alternatives, or presenting either-or arguments

• Finnish: dialyysi (fi)

rhetoric: asyndeton — see asyndeton

References

• Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “dialysis”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
• Silva Rhetoricae

Latin

Etymology

From Ancient Greek διάλυσις (diálusis).

Noun

dialysis f (genitive dialysis or dialyseōs or dialysios); third declension

1. separation

Declension

Third-declension noun (Greek-type, i-stem, i-stem).

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	dialysis	dialysēs dialyseis
Genitive	dialysis dialyseōs dialysios	dialysium
Dative	dialysī	dialysibus
Accusative	dialysim dialysin dialysem1	dialysēs dialysīs
Ablative	dialysī dialyse1	dialysibus
Vocative	dialysis dialysi	dialysēs dialyseis

¹Found sometimes in Medieval and New Latin.

References

• “dialysis”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press