Densifying

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The act of increasing the compactness of a material results in greater density as particles are forced closer together
2. When the concentration of a substance within a specified volume is augmented, a denser state is achieved
3. The process of making something thicker or more concentrated causes an increase in density as the particles are packed more tightly together

Etymology: "Densifying" is the present participle of "densify," which the source identifies as formed from "dense" plus the suffix "-ify." The suffix has a longer road into English than the base word does. It descends from the Latin "-ificare," a verb-forming element built from "-ficus" (making) and the connecting vowel "-i-," and it reached English through Old French "-ifier" and Middle English "-ifien," before settling as the modern "-ify." The base "dense" comes from Latin "densus," meaning thick or crowded, which traces back to a Proto-Indo-European root for thickness. "Densify" is therefore a plain, transparent formation: a Latin-derived adjective with a suffix that turns it into an action. The participle "densifying" simply carries that action into the ongoing process of making a material more compact.