Meaning

noun (chemistry) a substance that initiates or accelerates a chemical reaction without itself being affected

noun something that causes an important event to happen

originEtymology tree English catalysis Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íďďō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō) Proto-Hellenic *-tās Ancient Greek -τής (-tḗs) Ancient Greek -ῐστής (-ĭstḗs)bor. Latin -istader. Old French -istebor. Middle English -ist English -ist English catalyst From catalysis + -ist.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0