dissimilation

• Sustantivo que designa el proceso por el cual elementos semejantes se vuelven menos parecidos; se emplea en lingüística para referirse a cambios fonéticos y en biología para la descomposición metabólica de sustancias complejas en otras más simples con liberación de energía.

A noun referring to a process in which similar elements become less alike, used in linguistics for sound changes and in biology for the metabolic breakdown of complex substances into simpler ones with energy release.

1. Linguistic processC1formal

   A change in speech sounds where one of two similar or identical sounds in a word becomes different or less like the other, often to make pronunciation easier.

   disimilación

   • The change from Latin 'peregrinus' to Italian 'pellegrino' shows dissimilation of the first 'r' to 'l'.
   • Dissimilation often occurs in languages to avoid repeating the same sound.
   • The word 'marble' comes from Latin 'marmor' through a process of dissimilation.

2. Biological processC1formalscientific

   The metabolic breakdown of complex substances within living organisms into simpler compounds, which releases energy.

   Disimilación biológica

   • Cellular respiration is a key example of dissimilation in animals.
   • During dissimilation, nutrients are broken down to provide energy for the organism.
   • Plants also undergo dissimilation, especially at night when they break down stored starches.

   Sinónimoscatabolismkatabolism

   Antónimosassimilation