chirality means the phenomenon, in chemistry, physics and mathematics, in which objects are mirror images of each other, but are otherwise identical; handedness. It carries an Arena rating of 1670, earned across 49 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, chirality ranks #428 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #1,445 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words, #2,170 of 17,149 for Most Exacting Words, #3,230 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words.
chirality is pronounced /kaɪˈɹælɪti/.
Why “chirality” is a great word
CHIRALITY — [Noun] The property of a structure, especially a molecule, that is not superimposable on its mirror image; handedness. From chiral (from the Ancient Greek χείρ (kheír, 'hand')) + the suffix -ity; coined in 1893 by Lord Kelvin. Unlike symmetry, which denotes invariance under transformation, or enantiomer, which names a single mirror-image form, chirality is the foundational asymmetry that necessitates a pair. It is the left hand that will not fit the right glove, the specific clockwise spiral of a snail's shell, and the profound biochemical preference for one molecular twin over the other. It is the universe's quiet insistence that, in its deepest architecture, things have a side.
Etymology
From chiral + -ity = chir- + -ality.
noun
- The phenomenon, in chemistry, physics and mathematics, in which objects are mirror images of each other, but are otherwise identical; handedness.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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