Ammonified

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The conversion process whereby organic substances containing nitrogen are transformed into ammonia compounds occurs through biochemical reactions
2. A biochemical transformation modifies nitrogen-rich organic materials into ammonia, simplifying their structure for further use
3. The biochemical process in which nitrogen-containing organic substances are broken down to release ammonia

Etymology: "Ammonified" is the past form of "ammonify," a verb built from "ammonia" and the English suffix "-fy," meaning "to make into" or "to turn into." The chain behind "ammonia" runs back to the Egyptian god Amun, whose Greek name was Ammon. The Libyan oasis of Siwa, where his temple stood, was a site where travellers encountered a salty mineral substance, and the Romans linked it to the god, producing the Latin "ammoniacum" for a resin and salt associated with his shrine. The English noun "ammonia" came from that Latin lineage, and in the sense of the gas, it was a later application of the same name to a compound that had long been known in salt form. Adding "-fy" produced a verb for the process in which the nitrogen in organic matter is released as ammonia. The word thus carries the name of an Egyptian deity through two languages before reaching the chemistry of decay.

Synonyms: fertilized, enriched