Fluorinate

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To introduce fluorine into a substance in order to change its chemical properties or enhance its characteristics
2. To chemically modify a material by the addition of fluorine or fluorine-based compounds for improved performance
3. To chemically add fluorine atoms to a molecule to alter its properties or stability

Etymology: Fluorinate is a modern chemist's verb, built by stacking two suffixes onto the element name. Fluorine itself was named in the 1800s for its most striking property: fluorspar, the mineral from which it was first obtained, was used as a flux to make molten metal and glass flow. The Latin "fluor" means "flow", which is also the source of words like "fluid" and "influence", and the element was named for that flowing action. The word "fluorine" then became the base for "fluorinate" by adding "-ate", a suffix that turns a noun into a verb meaning to treat or combine with something. Chemists use it for adding fluorine to a compound, which is why the same suffix appears in words like "chlorinate" and "sulphonate". "Fluorinate" is a straightforward formation of this kind, so its meaning follows directly from the element it names.

Synonyms: fluoridate