Curing

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The process of preserving food or materials by drying, salting, or smoking ; the act of healing from illness or injury ; the hardening or setting of substances like concrete or resin
2. A method to extend the shelf life of items by preventing spoilage ; the recovery period during which health is restored ; the chemical or physical change that makes a material firm or durable
3. Treating materials to prevent decay or enhance durability ; the natural or assisted process of becoming healthy again ; the development of strength through drying or chemical reaction in manufactured goods

Etymology: "Curing" is a plain formation: the verb "cure" with the suffix "-ing", which in Middle English was added to verbs to form verbal nouns denoting an action or process. The base verb "cure" came into English from Old French, ultimately from Latin "cura", meaning care or concern, which is also the source of "care" itself. That shared ancestry is the surprising link: the medical sense of restoring health and the preservation sense of treating meat or fish both grew out of the older idea of looking after something. Because "curing" is built directly from "cure" plus "-ing", its senses follow the base word. The process of preserving food by salting, smoking or drying, and the recovery of health, both describe the same underlying act of treating something carefully until it is sound again. The sense of a material hardening or setting, as with concrete or rubber, extends the same idea of bringing something to a finished, stable state.

Synonyms: healing, remedying, treating, restoring, mending

Antonyms: worsening, damaging, injuring, harmful, afflicting