Sulfuretted

Part of speech: adjective, verb

Definitions

1. Containing sulfur or having been treated with it, as in a compound or chemical mixture
2. Mixed or chemically combined with sulfur, especially in the making of a compound
3. Impregnated, treated or joined with sulfur as part of a chemical process

Etymology: "Sulfuretted" is the past participle and adjective form of "sulphuret," a 19th-century chemical term for a compound of sulphur with another element. The root is "sulphur," which English borrowed from Latin "sulphur" and which came to English through Old French "solfre" and earlier Latin, ultimately from an unknown source possibly related to older Indo-European words for burning or fire-related substances. The "-et" ending in "sulphuret" reflects a older chemical naming habit, in which "-uret" marked a binary compound of an element with sulphur or another non-oxygen element, as opposed to "-ide" in later systematic naming. Chemists used the word "sulphuretted" to describe a substance that had been combined with sulphur, such as "sulphuretted hydrogen," the older name for hydrogen sulphide. Spelling varies between British "sulphuretted" and American "sulfuretted," with the doubled "t" typical of past forms of verbs ending in a single consonant after a stressed vowel in British usage.

Synonyms: sulphuretted, sulfurated, sulphurated