Opacifying

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The act of altering a substance to diminish its transparency involves reducing the passage of light through it
2. The process of making a material less see-through signifies a change in its ability to allow light to pass through
3. The action of transforming a medium to restrict visibility entails decreasing the clarity and light transmission within it

Etymology: "Opacifying" is the present participle of "opacify," a verb meaning to make something less transparent. The verb is a back-formation from "opacification," a noun, and its deeper root is the Latin "opācus," meaning "dark" or "shaded." English built "opaque" from that Latin source, then added the suffix "-ify," which turns adjectives into verbs meaning "to make" something into that quality, as in "purify" or "simplify." The verb took its shape in a slightly backward way. Speakers formed the noun "opacification" first, and then trimmed it down to the shorter verb "opacify" by treating the ending "-ation" as if it were a removable suffix. So the verb is younger than the noun it was made from, even though it looks like the more basic form. The word thus describes a process: whatever is opacifying is actively losing its ability to let light through.