"Decollage!" You ever hear a common word and you start wondering about it's origins?
The word "Decollage" is from french verb "decoller" - opposite of french verb "coller" - which means to glue or stick.
English translation is "take off" but maybe "unstick-ify" better.
The word "Decollage" is from french verb "decoller" - opposite of french verb "coller" - which means to glue or stick.
English translation is "take off" but maybe "unstick-ify" better.
(and when you were a kid, you made a "collage". Sticking stuff together on construction paper with glue sticks, right?)
So...here's where I ponder. I worked in France for 3 years doing solid-bound organic synthesis. We used the french words "accrochage" and "decrochage" to mean "attach" and "unattach" the molecules from their solid support. But the French verb "accrocher" means "to hook".
"Accrocher" : "hook or hang" is a physical process, right? "Coller" : "to glue or stick" is a chemical process. So maybe we chemists were using the wrong word, if you dig down to the molecular level...
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