Nitrifications

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The process of converting ammonia into nitrates or nitrites through biological and chemical means in an ecological context
2. The transformation of nitrogen compounds in soil into forms usable by plants as part of the nitrogen cycle, often involving bacteria
3. A three-step biochemical process that plays a pivotal role in soil fertility and plant nutrition by facilitating the oxidation of nitrogenous compounds

Etymology: "Nitrifications" is simply the plural of "nitrification," so its history is that of the base noun. That noun is built from "nitrify," which combines "nitre" (saltpetre, potassium nitrate, from Old French and Latin roots tracing back to Greek "nitron," a natural soda) with the verb-forming suffix "-fy," from Latin "-ficare," meaning "to make." To nitrify is to make something nitrous or to convert it into nitrates, and the noun names the process by which that conversion happens. The plural form is used when speaking of several distinct instances or kinds of the process, such as the separate nitrification reactions occurring in different soils or stages of a cycle. The word's core meaning stayed close to its chemical origin: the conversion of ammonia-bearing compounds into nitrates by microbes, which is why the process matters so much to plant nutrition.

Synonyms: nitration, nitrifying, nitrifying processes, nitrogen fixation, fertilization