zymurgy

English

WOTD – 26 February 2025

Etymology

From zym- (prefix meaning ‘fermentation’) +‎ -urgy (suffix denoting a technique for working with something),^[1] modelled after metallurgy.^[2]

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈzaɪˌmɜːd͡ʒi/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
(General American) IPA^(key): /ˈzaɪˌmɜɹd͡ʒi/
Hyphenation: zym‧ur‧gy

Noun

zymurgy (usually uncountable, plural not attested)

Synonym of zymology (“the chemistry of fermentation with yeasts, especially the science involved in beermaking and winemaking”) [from mid 19th c.]
- [1869, Henry Watts, “ZUMURGY”, in A Dictionary of Chemistry and the Allied Branches of Other Sciences. […], volumes V (Quadrantoxide–Zymurgy), London: Longmans, Green, and Co., →OCLC, page 1086:
  ZYMURGY. A name applied to that department of technological chemistry which treats of the scientific principles of wine-making, brewing, distilling, and the preparation of yeast and vinegar,—processes in which fermentation plays the principal part.
  Appears to be the earliest use of the word in print.]
- 1899 December, Constanz Schmitz, “Cold Storage of Hops”, in Ice and Refrigeration: A Monthly Review of the Ice, Ice Making, Refrigerating, Cold Storage and Kindred Trades, volume XVII, number 6, Chicago, Ill.; New York, N.Y.: H. S. Rich & Co., →OCLC, page 399, column 2:
  With great interest I learn from a pamphlet by Mr. Georg Barth, expert in zymurgy at Munich, which I have received lately, that the author, in his essay on "The Best Method of Storing Hops," arrives at the same conclusions which I have drawn in this article.
  Translated from Eis und Kaelte-industrie by an anonymous author.
- [1947, The American Mercury, volume 65, New York, N.Y.: American Mercury Magazine, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 220, column 2:
  The natural languages, however, cover every subject from aardvarks to zymurgies.]
- 2010, “FERMENTATION”, in Rachel Black, editor, Alcohol in Popular Culture: An Encyclopedia, Santa Barbara, Calif.; Denver, Colo.: Greenwood, →ISBN, page 87:
  Later, in 1897, the German chemist Eduard Buchner refined [Louis] Pasteur's work by showing that the yeasts did not actually have to be alive to yield the fermentation process, as it is an enzymatic secretion of yeast that metabolizes sugar to produce alcohol. This refinement led to Buchner's receipt of the 1907 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for advancements in zymurgy.
- 2013 July 9, Chimwemwe Simwanza, chapter 16, in Beauty’s Promise, Bloomington, Ind.: iUniverse, →ISBN, page 126:
  Going by the amount of liquor you consume, I thought the only science that interested you was zymurgy, which would make you an illegal scientist because you are not quite eighteen yet.
The practice of using fermentation to produce alcoholic beverages.
- 1896 June, “Clacks [An Excellent Recipe for Making Brown Bread]”, in The Clack Book, volume I, number 3, Lansing, Mich.: Wells & Hudson, →OCLC, page 83:
  Of Zymurgy I little know, / Perhaps because I little knead, / And can but make a sorry show / In singing liaisons of feed, / Flour, fodder,— […]
- 1996, Patrick Higgins, Maura Kate Kilgore, Paul Hertlein, “Introduction”, in The Homebrewer’s Recipe Guide: More than 175 Original Beer Recipes, including Magnificent Pale Ales, Ambers, Stouts, Lagers, and Seasonal Brews, Plus Tips from the Master Brewers (A Fireside Book), New York, N.Y.: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page xx:
  Of course, tastes in brewing have changed (and diversified) since zymurgy’s early days. For example, hops are now considered a staple beer ingredient, but their use was considered illegal by the Brewer’s Guild in England until the late fifteenth century.

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

chemistry of fermentation with yeasts (cognates only) — see also zymology

Polish: zymologia f
Portuguese: zimurgia ?
Turkish: zimürji

practice of using fermentation to produce alcoholic beverages

Finnish: juomien käyttäminen, juoman valmistus käyttämällä
Macedonian: please add this translation if you can
Polish: zymologia f

References

^ “zymurgy, n.”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
^ Compare “zymurgy, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, July 2023; “zymurgy, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.