-lytic


Also found in: Medical.

-lytic

suff.
Of, relating to, or causing a specified kind of decomposition: cellulolytic.
[From Greek lutikos, able to loosen, from lūein, to loosen; see leu- in Indo-European roots.]
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.

-lytic

adj combining form
indicating a loosening or dissolving: paralytic.
[from Greek, from lusis; see -lysis]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

lyt•ic

(ˈlɪt ɪk)

adj.
of, noting, or pertaining to lysis or a lysin.
[1885–90; < Greek lytikós able to be loosened =lyt(ós) soluble, v. adj. of lyein to loose, dissolve + -ic]

-lytic

a combining form meaning “breaking down,” “opposing the effects of,” occurring esp. in adjectives that correspond to nouns ending in -lysis: cytolytic; hydrolytic.
[see lytic]
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