Hydrating

Part of speech: verb, adjective

Definitions

1. Supplying water or moisture to something to prevent dryness
2. Adding fluids or moisture to maintain or improve hydration levels
3. Replenishing moisture content to keep an object or organism adequately hydrated

Etymology: The Greek word "hydor" meant simply "water," and it survives in English far beyond the word itself. Its combining form "hydro-" appears in everything from hydroelectric to hydrogen, and "hydrate" is one of its chemical offspring. The verb "hydrate" was built in French as "hydrate," which took the Greek root and added the suffix "-ate," a common ending for chemical compounds formed with water or other substances. English borrowed it from French, and the sense of "supplying water to" follows from that chemical root. Chemists used "hydrate" for a substance that has taken water into its structure, and the physical sense of wetting or moistening came later, as the word moved from the laboratory into everyday speech. The "-ing" ending on "hydrating" simply turns the verb into a present participle, so the word describes the act of supplying water as it happens.

Synonyms: moisturizing, dampening

Antonyms: dehydrating