Centrifugate

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The liquid or fine material that is separated out and collected after a mixture has been spun at high speed in a centrifuge
2. Matter that has been forced outward and separated from a mixture by rapid rotation in a centrifuge machine
3. The portion of a sample that a centrifuge throws out and isolates from the denser or heavier material remaining behind

Etymology: Centrifugate is a plain technical coinage, built from "centrifuge" with the suffix "-ate," which forms nouns for the product or result of a process. A centrifuge is a machine that spins samples at high speed so that denser material separates outward, and the centrifugate is the liquid left behind once that separation is done. The word's pieces explain its meaning. "Centrifuge" itself combines Latin "centrum," meaning centre, with "fugere," meaning to flee, so the machine works by driving material away from the centre. The suffix "-ate," inherited through Latin "-atus," turns the process into the thing it yields, much as "distillate" names what remains after distilling.