Deanodize

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Strips the protective anodized oxide layer from the surface of a metal object such as aluminium
2. Takes off the artificially applied anodic coating that has been added to a metal through electrolytic oxidation
3. Removes an anodized finish from metal by chemical or mechanical treatment

Etymology: Michael Faraday needed names for the electrodes in his electrolysis experiments, and in 1834 he asked the polymath William Whewell to coin them. Whewell built "anode" from the Greek "anodos," meaning "a way up," with "ana-" (up) and "hodos" (road). His partner term, "cathode," used "kata-" (down), so the pair describes current travelling up and down a path. Anodizing, which treats a metal so that its surface forms a protective oxide layer, is named for the anode, the electrode where that oxidation takes place. This technical verb was formed later, probably in the early twentieth century, by adding "-ize" to the noun. "Deanodize" is a rarer, more specialized formation: the prefix "de-" (from Latin, meaning "down from" or "removal") reverses the process, stripping the oxide coating from a metal part.