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solute

Primary Information
Secondary Information

Definition

A solute is a substance that is dissolved in a liquid. For example, sugar is a solute that is dissolved in water. This means that the sugar molecules are mixed evenly with the water molecules.

A solute is the part of a solution that is dissolved in the solvent. The solvent is the liquid that dissolves the solute. In the example of sugar dissolved in water, the sugar is the solute and the water is the solvent.

How can the word be used?

The solute in a solution of salt water is salt.

solute

Different forms of the word

Noun:

  • a substance that is dissolved in a solvent to form a solution.

Etymology

The word "solute" comes from the Latin word "solutus", which means "loosened" or "dissolved".

The first recorded use of the word "solute" in English was in the 19th century.

The word "solute" is derived from the Latin word "solutus", which is itself derived from the Proto-Indo-European word *swel, which also means "loosened" or "dissolved".

Question

What is a solute?