Hydrogenising

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Adding hydrogen to a substance, especially to convert unsaturated oils into more solid fats through a chemical reaction
2. Treating a compound with hydrogen so that it becomes saturated, a process commonly used in making margarine and other food products
3. Combining a material with hydrogen gas or atoms, often under heat, pressure, or a catalyst, to change its chemical structure

Etymology: Hydrogen itself was named in the 1780s, from Greek "hudōr" (water) and "-genēs" (born of, producing), because burning it produced water. The verb is much later and simpler: it is "hydrogenise", formed in English from "hydrogen" plus the suffix "-ise", which comes through Middle French "-iser" and Late Latin "-izare" from Greek "-izein", a verb-forming ending meaning "to make into or treat with" something. So the sense is literal. To hydrogenise something is to make it combine with hydrogen, and the process is most familiar in the chemical treatment of unsaturated oils, where hydrogen is added across double bonds to turn liquid oils into more solid fats. The word is a straightforward chemical coinage built from existing parts, and it carries no older meaning beyond the one given. The "-ing" ending simply turns the verb into a present participle or gerund, so "hydrogenising" describes the ongoing action of adding hydrogen.

Synonyms: hydrogenate