Nitrogenate

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To improve a substance by incorporating nitrogen through a specialized method for increased efficacy
2. To introduce nitrogen into a material in order to alter its composition or enhance its qualities
3. To combine nitrogen with a compound, changing its chemical properties or improving its performance

Etymology: "Nitrogenate" is a plain piece of chemical vocabulary: nitrogen with the verb-forming suffix "-ate," which English took from Latin "-atus" and uses to turn nouns into verbs meaning to combine with, treat with, or make into something. Its meaning follows directly from that suffix, so treating with nitrogen is what the word describes. The noun "nitrogen" is a deliberate 18th-century coinage, not an ancient word. It was built from French "nitre" (saltpetre) and the Greek element "-gène," meaning "producing" or "generating," since the gas was thought to produce nitre-like compounds. The earlier name "azote," from Greek for "without life," was coined in the same period because the gas could not support burning or breathing. "Nitre" itself traces back through Latin and Greek to an ancient Semitic and Egyptian word for natron, a mineral salt.

Synonyms: fertilize, nitrate