Volatilization

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The action or process by which a solid or liquid changes into a gas and disperses into the air
2. The transformation of a material from its liquid or solid state into vapor, causing it to evaporate
3. A process in which a substance converts to gaseous form and escapes into the atmosphere

Etymology: Volatilization is simply volatile plus the suffix "-ization," so its real story lies in the first half. "Volatile" comes from Latin "volatilis," meaning "flying" or "winged," from "volare," "to fly." The sense of a substance that readily flies off into the air arrived long before anyone applied it to chemistry, and the same idea gave English its figurative use for a person given to sudden changes of mood. The suffix does the work of turning that idea into a process. The "-ize" element, which entered English through Middle French and Late Latin from Greek "-izein," turns an adjective into a verb meaning "to make or become" something, and "-ation" then converts the verb into a noun for the act or result. Put together, "volatilization" names the change by which a substance is made to become vapor. The "-ize" and "-ation" pieces each passed through French before reaching English, though the whole word is an English formation from these parts.

Synonyms: evaporation, vaporization, sublimation, gasification, distillation