Demineralisation

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The process of removing mineral content from a substance, typically to make it purer or to alter its chemical properties
2. The act of extracting minerals from water or food, resulting in a product that is less mineral-rich
3. A method used in various industries to decrease mineral levels in materials for better quality or safety in consumption

Etymology: Demineralisation is a plain modern formation: the prefix "de-", meaning "removal of" or "reversal of", attached to "mineralisation", the process of a substance becoming mineral-rich or being turned into minerals. Put together, the word names the removal of mineral content, most often from water or from bone and teeth. Its structure is transparent, so there is no hidden older meaning to recover. The core of the word, "mineralisation", traces its own ancestry through "mineral", which came into English from medieval Latin "minerale", a derivative of Latin "minera" meaning ore or mine. The "-isation" ending is the familiar suffix for turning something into a state or process, borrowed through French from Late Latin and Greek roots. Each layer adds a sense of process to the base noun. The prefix "de-" is the more productive half here. Used with process nouns, it marks the undoing of that process, which is why the same pattern yields words like "decontamination" and "deforestation". The result is a technical term that describes an action in chemistry, water treatment and dentistry rather than an everyday concept.