-lysis

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-lysis

suff.

Decomposition; dissolving; disintegration: hydrolysis.

[New Latin, from Greek lusis, a loosening; see lysis.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

-lysis

n combining form

indicating a loosening, decomposition, or breaking down: electrolysis; paralysis.

[from Greek, from lusis a loosening; see lysis]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ly•sis

(ˈlaɪ sɪs)

n.

1. the dissolution or destruction of cells by lysins.

2. the gradual recession of a disease. Compare crisis (def. 4).

[1815–25; < Greek lýsis a loosening <ly-, variant s. of ly(ein) to loosen]

-lysis

a combining form with the meanings “breakdown,” “decomposition” of or by means of the thing specified by the initial element: cytolysis; hydrolysis; photolysis.