Immunising

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The act of rendering an individual immune to disease through vaccination or introduction of pathogens
2. The process of establishing resistance to infections by introducing specific antigens to an organism
3. The practice of enabling protection against diseases by exposing the body to harmless forms of pathogens or their components

Etymology: "Immunising" is the British spelling of "immunizing" and the present participle of "immunise", which means to make a person or animal resistant to a disease, usually by vaccination. The verb is built from "immune" plus the suffix "-ise", which turns an adjective into a verb meaning "to make or become" the thing described. So "immunise" literally means "to make immune." The verb was borrowed from French "immuniser", and the adjective behind it, "immune", came into English from French and Latin, where "immunis" meant "exempt" or "free from obligation." That Latin sense is the key to the word's history: a Roman citizen exempt from public duties was "immunis," and the notion of being protected from a burden is what carried over. Only later did "immune" come to describe protection from disease, and "immunise" followed that medical sense.

Synonyms: vaccinating, inoculating, protecting, shielding, safeguarding

Antonyms: infecting, contaminating, exposing