Science & TechnologyGreek → English
Catabolic
/ˌkætəˈbɒlɪk/adjective
Breaking complex molecules into simpler ones and releasing energy in the process.
The Greek roots
κατά
katá
down
βάλλω
bállō
to throw, cast
Literally: “throwing down”
The story of the word
Michael Foster's physiology textbook of the 1870s set catabolism against anabolism, tearing down against building up, and gym vocabulary has been borrowing the pair ever since. In classical Greek καταβολή is the laying down of a foundation, and the New Testament phrase καταβολὴ κόσμου means the founding of the world. βάλλω throws the same syllable into symbol, parable, problem and emblem.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → scientific coinage → English
- First recorded
- 19th century
Same family
anabolicmetabolismsymbolparableproblem
In a sentence
Long fasted sessions push the body into a more catabolic state than most lifters want.