sublimation

Etymology

From Middle English sublimacioun, sublimacion, from Medieval Latin sublīmātiō, from Latin sublīmō (“I raise, I elevate”, verb). Synchronically, sublimate +‎ -ion.

Pronunciation

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Noun

sublimation (countable and uncountable, plural sublimations)

1. (chemistry) The transition of a substance from the solid phase directly to the vapor state such that it does not pass through the intermediate liquid phase. [from late 14th c.]
   • 2023 September 20, Tom Ingall, “Freezing the leaves off the line”, in RAIL, number 992, page 46:

     It uses dry ice pellets (capsules of frozen carbon dioxide), blown at supersonic speed onto the railhead through a small nozzle. Any leaf contamination on the line is frozen, becoming brittle. The pellets then change instantly from solid to gas without going through a liquid stage (a process known as sublimation).

2. (psychology) The transformation of an impulse into something socially constructive. [from 20th c.]
3. Elevation; exaltation; a making sublime.

Etymology

From Latin sublimatio.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

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Noun

sublimation f (plural sublimations)

1. sublimate

Further reading

• “sublimation”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.