Iodinise

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Treats a substance or material with iodine, adding the element to it or using it in a chemical reaction
2. Applies iodine to something so that it becomes chemically combined or coloured by the halogen element
3. Subjects an object or compound to iodine in order to modify it or to introduce the element into its structure

Etymology: Iodine itself got its name from Greek, and the story begins with its colour. In 1811, the French chemist Bernard Courtois noticed violet vapour rising from seaweed ash he was processing for saltpetre, and the element was named "iodes," Greek for "violet-coloured," in the following years. "Iodise" is simply the verb built from that noun, with the English suffix "-ise" (or "-ize") meaning "to treat with or make into." So to iodise something is to treat it with iodine, a sense that dates to the nineteenth century, when iodine became widely used in medicine and photography.

Synonyms: iodize, iodinate