pH
pronunciation
How to pronounce pH in British English:
UK [ˌpi: ˈeɪtʃ]
How to pronounce pH in American English:
US
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- Noun:
- (chemistry) p(otential of) H(ydrogen); the logarithm of the reciprocal of hydrogen-ion concentration in gram atoms per liter; provides a measure on a scale from 0 to 14 of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution (where 7 is neutral and greater than 7 is
Word Origin
- pH
- 1909, from German PH, introduced by S.P.L. Sörensen, from P, for German Potenz "potency, power" + H, symbol for the hydrogen ion that determines acidity or alkalinity.
- ph
- now in English usually representing "f," originally it was the combination used by Romans to represent Greek letter phi (cognate with Sanskrit -bh-, Germanic -b-), which at first was an aspirated "p," later the same sound as German -pf-. But by 2c. B.C.E. had become a simple sound made by blowing through the lips (bilabial spirant). Roman "f," like modern English "f," was dentilabial; by c. 400, however, the sounds had become identical and in some Romanic languages (Italian, Spanish), -ph- regularly was replaced by -f-. This tendency took hold in Old French and Middle English, but with the revival of classical learning the words subsequently were altered back to -ph- (except fancy and fantastic), and due to zealousness in this some non-Greek words in -f- began to appear confusedly in -ph-, though these forms generally have not survived.
Example
- 1. The ph of stomach acid is 1 to 4 .
- 2. Can diet change the ph balance of the body ?
- 3. Testing your urine only tells you the ph of your urine .
- 4. This raises your ph so it becomes more alkaline and less acidic .
- 5. Are urine and saliva ph test strips a good way to measure ph ?