Calefy

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To raise the temperature of something by applying heat
2. To warm up or heat through by means of thermal energy
3. To make something hot or pleasantly warm by the application of heat

Etymology: Calefy is a Latin-built verb meaning "to make warm." It comes from the Latin "calefacere," which combines "calere," "to be warm," with "facere," "to make." English writers borrowed the pattern, and the "-fy" ending is the English reflex of that Latin "facere" element. The same ending appears in a family of words that most readers already know. "Putrefy" (to make rotten), "liquefy" (to make liquid), and "rarefy" (to make thin or less dense) all follow the same plan of a base word plus "make." Calefy is simply the member of the family built on the Latin root for heat. That root survives in more familiar words. "Calor," the Latin noun for heat, gave English "calorie," the unit of heat energy, and "calorific," meaning heat-producing. Calefy itself is now rare and mostly confined to dictionaries and older writing, having been largely replaced by plain verbs such as "heat" and "warm."