Alkalise

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To enhance the basic qualities of a substance by raising its pH level, thereby reducing acidity
2. To increase the pH of a substance, reducing its acidity by making it more alkaline
3. To treat a material or solution so that it becomes more basic by neutralizing acids

Etymology: "Alkalise" is the British spelling of "alkalize," and it is a plain, transparent formation: "alkali" with the verbal suffix "-ize," meaning to make something alkaline. The base noun "alkali" carries the older history. It came into English from medieval Latin "alcali," which was borrowed from Arabic "al-qily," a term for the ashes of saltwort and similar plants, whose ash was used to make soda for glass and soap. That burnt-plant origin is why an alkali was once understood as a substance drawn from ash rather than as a chemical category. The suffix has its own route. "-ize" descends from Greek "-izein," which Latin adopted as "-izare" and which passed into Middle French and then Middle English as "-ise" and "-ize." English speakers have been attaching it to nouns to form verbs of making or treating for centuries, so "alkalise" follows a common pattern. Because the verb is a modern formation built on the noun, its meaning stays close to the original chemistry: to render something less acidic by adding an alkali.

Synonyms: alkalize