Pretreat

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To give something a preliminary treatment or chemical process before it undergoes the main stage of processing or use
2. To apply a initial treatment to a material, substance or patient ahead of the principal procedure that follows
3. To prepare or condition something in advance by subjecting it to a treatment before its primary application

Etymology: "Pretreat" is a plain compound: the prefix "pre-", meaning "before," attached to "treat," meaning to deal with or handle something. Its sense is exactly what the parts suggest, so the word describes subjecting something to a process, such as a chemical bath or a coating, before its main use or further processing. The prefix has a longer pedigree than the verb. "Pre-" descends from the Latin "prae," meaning "before" or "in front of," which in turn traces back to very old Indo-European roots meaning "forward" or "before." English took the prefix up freely and attached it to native and borrowed bases alike, so "pretreat" is one of many formations in which it simply marks priority in time. "Treat" has a more varied background. It came into English through Anglo-Norman and Old French "traiter," from the Latin "tractare," meaning to handle or manage, and the sense of handling something carefully or applying a process to it grew out of that. The combination of the two parts gives a verb that needs no special story to explain it.

Synonyms: precondition, prime, pre-process