Sulfurating

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Applying sulfur or a sulfur-containing compound to a substance; causing a chemical reaction involving sulfur; producing a scent or effect associated with sulfur
2. Treating materials with sulfur or its derivatives to induce chemical change; engaging in a process that incorporates sulfur atoms; emitting or related to the smell of sulfur compounds
3. Infusing or combining with sulfur in a chemical context; facilitating transformations that involve sulfur elements; generating characteristics reminiscent of sulfurous emissions

Etymology: "Sulfurating" is the present participle of "sulfurate," a verb built in English by adding the suffix "-ate" to "sulfur." The suffix comes from Latin "-atus," which marked a verb's past participle, and it became one of English's standard tools for making verbs out of chemical and other nouns. Attaching it to "sulfur" produces a verb meaning to treat something with that element or its compounds. The noun underneath has a long pedigree. "Sulfur" passed into Middle English as "sulphur," borrowed through Anglo-Norman "sulfre" from Latin "sulfur," itself a variant of "sulpur." The spelling "sulfur" with an f, now standard in American English, is a later simplification of the older ph form, which British English kept. Both spellings and the suffix therefore carry centuries of separate history before they meet in this one verb.