Catalyst
A substance that speeds up a chemical reaction without itself being consumed — and, by extension, any person or event that triggers a change without being changed by it.
Origin
The term was coined by Swedish chemist Jöns Jakob Berzelius in 1835, from Greek katalysis ('dissolution'). Catalysts work by lowering the activation energy a reaction needs — they don't make the reaction possible, they make it cheaper. Enzymes are biological catalysts; platinum in car exhaust converters is a famous industrial one. The reaction can proceed without the catalyst, just much slower.
Modern usage
One of the most-used metaphors in business writing, journalism, and self-help. 'The catalyst for change,' 'be the catalyst,' 'a catalyst moment.' Often used loosely for anything that 'caused' something, blurring the technical meaning (a real catalyst isn't a cause, it's a speed-up).
In the wild
The pandemic was a catalyst for remote work, not the cause of it.— common usage
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