Hydrogenised

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The application of hydrogen to a compound leads to its transformation from unsaturated to saturated forms
2. This process involves adding hydrogen atoms to organic substances, resulting in changes in their molecular structure and stability
3. The treatment of a substance with hydrogen alters its chemical properties, converting unsaturated bonds into saturated ones

Etymology: The verb "hydrogenise" is simply hydrogen with the suffix "-ise", which turns a noun into a verb meaning "to treat with, or combine with, that substance". Hydrogen itself was named in the late 1700s from Greek roots: "hydro-" (water) and "-gen" (producing), because it forms water when burned. The name was borrowed from French "hydrogène", coined by the chemist Antoine Lavoisier, which gave English a word meaning "water-former" for a gas he had shown to be an element. The suffix "-ise" has a long pedigree of its own, passing from Greek through Late Latin "-izare" and Old French into English. Its verbal form is what turns "hydrogen" into an action: to hydrogenise a substance is to add hydrogen to it, most often to fat or oil. The result is that double bonds between carbon atoms become single bonds, which is why margarine, once made from liquid vegetable oils, could be turned into a solid spread.

Synonyms: hydrogenated, saturated, processed, modified, altered