Pollutants

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Materials that cause contamination in air, water, or soil
2. Agents introducing harmful components into natural surroundings
3. Elements or compounds that degrade environmental quality

Etymology: "Pollutants" is the plural of "pollutant," a noun formed in English from the verb "pollute" plus the suffix "-ant." The suffix comes down through Latin "-ans" (genitive "-antis") and Old French "-ant," and it carries the sense of a doer or agent, so a pollutant is literally a thing that pollutes. The verb underneath it, "pollute," reaches English from Latin "polluere," which combined "po-" (an intensifying prefix) with "luere," meaning to wash or to stain. The core idea is therefore one of defiling or staining something that was clean. Over time the sense moved from ritual or moral defilement toward physical contamination of water, air and soil.