Permeating

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To convey the act of spreading thoroughly within a material or environment while altering its characteristics To illustrate the process of infusing a specific quality into every component of an area or entity To depict the phenomenon of penetrating and influencing all aspects of a medium or situation with a notable attribute
2. Passing through and saturating a material or space so that it influences the whole ;
3. Moving gradually across or within something, causing a noticeable change throughout ;

Etymology: "Permeating" is the present participle of "permeate", which first appeared in English in 1656, borrowed from the Latin "permeātus", the past participle of "permeō", meaning "to pass through." The Latin verb is built from "per-", meaning "through," and "meāre", meaning "to go" or "to pass," so the original image is of something moving straight through a barrier from one side to the other. That physical sense of passing through a gap or membrane is still present in the word's oldest uses, where it described liquids or air seeping through a porous material. The notion of spreading through every part of something, which is what "permeating" usually conveys today, grew out of that image of thorough passage, so a substance that permeates a room has reached every corner of it rather than merely touching the walls.

Synonyms: spreading, saturating, diffusing