Vulcanify

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To treat rubber or similar material with sulfur under heat and pressure, making it more durable and resistant to wear
2. To process rubber by combining it with sulfur and applying heat, thereby improving its strength, flexibility, and resistance to temperature changes
3. To harden and strengthen rubber through a chemical process involving sulfur and heat that creates cross-links between polymer chains

Etymology: Vulcan, the Roman god of fire and metalworking, gave English one of its more unusual chemistry terms. The Roman god's name is itself a Latin word, "Vulcanus," and it is the source of the English verb "vulcanize," meaning to treat rubber with heat and sulfur so that it stays elastic and does not go sticky or brittle. The process was named for the god of fire because heat is central to it. "Vulcanify" is a rarer variant of that verb. It takes the same base, Vulcan, and adds the suffix "-ify," which comes through Old French from the Latin "-ificare," meaning "to make or cause to be." Put together, the word means roughly "to make into something by means of Vulcan's fire." Because "vulcanize" is the standard form, "vulcanify" is mostly found as an informal or alternative spelling, and it shares the same meaning as its more common relative.

Synonyms: vulcanize