Dechlorin

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To eliminate chlorine atoms or molecules from a chemical compound or material
2. The process of extracting or stripping chlorine from a substance to reduce its chlorine content
3. Removing chlorine elements from a compound or mixture to purify or alter its chemical properties

Etymology: "Dechlorinate" is the full form of this word, and the verb form is built simply: "de-" (from Latin "de-", meaning "down, away, reversal") added to "chlorine," which chemist Humphry Davy named in 1810 from the Greek "chlōros," meaning "pale green," because of the gas's greenish-yellow colour. Davy first called it "oxymuriatic acid" before settling on the shorter name. The prefix "de-" in chemistry signals removal or reversal, so "dechlorinate" literally means to take chlorine away from something. The word is a technical coinage from the 19th or early 20th century built on existing parts, not a term with an older history of its own. Its usage is most common in water treatment, where chlorine added to drinking or swimming-pool water is removed with agents such as sodium thiosulfate, and in chemistry, where chlorinated compounds are stripped of chlorine atoms to change their properties.

Synonyms: dechlorinate, remove chlorine, detoxify

Antonyms: chlorinate, add chlorine, contaminate