Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Proteolysis \Pro`te*ol"y*sis\, n. [NL. See {Proteolytic}.]
   (Physiol. Chem.)
   The digestion or dissolving of proteid matter by proteolytic
   ferments.

Source : WordNet®

proteolysis
     n : the hydrolysis of proteins into peptides and amino acids by
         cleavage of their peptide bonds