Added 9 October 2026
polymer
/ˈpɒl.ɪ.mə/ noun
In Latin: none, coined in 1833 Coined: 1833, by Jacob Berzelius Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about polymer at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- A long or larger molecule consisting of a chain or network of many repeating units, formed by chemically bonding together many identical or similar small molecules called monomers. A polymer is formed by polymerization, the joining of many monomer molecules.
- A material consisting of such polymer molecules.
Origin
From poly- + -mer, from Ancient Greek πολύς (polús, “many”) + μέρος (méros, “part”). Coined by Jöns Jacob Berzelius in 1833, though his definition was quite different from the modern one.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)