Additives

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Agents incorporated into various materials to enhance specific qualities or effects
2. Materials introduced into foods or other items to enhance durability, taste, or appearance
3. Compounds included in products to maintain quality, extend shelf life, or modify characteristics

Etymology: "Additives" is the plural of "additive," so its history is that of the singular form. The adjective "additive" comes from Late Latin "additivus," which was built on the participial stem of Latin "addere," meaning "to add." "Addere" combines "ad-" ("to" or "toward") with "dare" ("to give" or "put"), so the core idea is putting one thing toward another. Latin "additivus" carried the sense of something that adds or is capable of being added, and English took the word over with that basic meaning intact. The noun sense that appears in modern usage, referring to substances mixed into foods, fuels, plastics and other materials, is a later extension of the adjective. The original notion of something that is put toward another thing fits well with the idea of an agent blended into a base material to change its qualities.

Synonyms: supplements, enhancers, adjuvants, ingredients