eutectic

Etymology

From Ancient Greek εὔτηκτος (eútēktos, “easily melted”), from εὖ (eû, “well”) + τήκω (tḗkō, “to melt”). Coined as an adjective (along with the noun eutexia) by British scientist Frederick Guthrie in 1884.

adj

1. Describing the chemical composition or temperature of a mixture of substances that gives the lowest temperature at which the mixture becomes fully molten. A further requirement is that that temperature is lower than the melting point of any of the pure component substances.
2. (chemistry) Describing the thermodynamic equilibrium conditions where a liquid coexists with two solid phases.
   For a mixture with two components at a fixed pressure, the eutectic reaction can only happen at a fixed chemical composition and temperature, called the eutectic point.

noun

1. A material that has the composition of a eutectic mixture or eutectic alloy.
2. The temperature of the eutectic point.