Salinize

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ˈsælɪnaɪz/

Definitions

1. The alteration of water or soil through the addition of salt results in increased salinity levels
2. To cause soil or water to become more saline by adding salt or causing salt to accumulate
3. To introduce salt into soil or water, resulting in a higher concentration of salt

Etymology: "Salinize" is a plain technical formation: it combines "saline," meaning salty, with the suffix "-ize," which turns an adjective into a verb meaning "to make or become." The result describes soil or water being made salty, which is most often a problem of irrigation and drought, where dissolved salts build up as water evaporates and leave residue behind. The suffix has a longer pedigree than the English word. "-ize" traces back through Late Latin "-izare" and Ancient Greek "-izein," where it was used to form verbs from nouns and adjectives. It passed into Old French as "-iser" and into Middle English as "-isen," and only later settled into the spelling English uses today. Its many descendants, such as "modernize" and "organize," follow the same pattern. "Saline" itself comes from Latin "salinus," from "sal," meaning salt, so "salinize" is salt built on salt. The word is a modern scientific coinage from those parts, a sign of how readily English takes a familiar suffix and attaches it to whatever needs naming.

Synonyms: salt, saturate, impregnate, enrich, season

Antonyms: desalinize, purify, cleanse, decontaminate, remove