Nebulise

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To change a liquid into a misty aerosol that can be inhaled; to aerosolize a solution for the delivery of medication through respiratory means; to dispense therapeutic agents in a fine spray for effective breathing treatment
2. To transform a liquid medicine into a vapor or fine spray suitable for breathing into the lungs
3. The process of producing a mist from a liquid to allow medication to be inhaled directly into the respiratory system

Etymology: "Nebulise" is the British spelling of "nebulize," and its roots are plain: it combines the Latin "nebula," meaning "little cloud" or "mist," with the verb-forming ending "-ize," which comes from Greek through Latin and turns a noun into an action. To nebulise, then, is literally to turn something into a cloud. The Latin "nebula" also gave English "nebula," the name for a cloud of gas and dust in space, so the same image of a diffuse haze links a medical device to the night sky. The verb itself is a modern technical coinage built from those classical parts, not an ancient term, and it belongs to the vocabulary of respiratory medicine.

Synonyms: mist, spray, atomize