mineralize

English

Etymology

mineral +‎ -ize

Verb

mineralize (third-person singular simple present mineralizes, present participle mineralizing, simple past and past participle mineralized)

1. To convert to a mineral; to petrify.
   • 1823, William Buckland, Reliquiæ Diluvianæ:

     in all these cases , the bones found in caverns are never mineralised, but simply in the state of grave bones more or less decayed or incrusted by stalagmite ; and have no farther connexion with the rocks themselves

2. To impregnate with minerals.

   mineralized water

3. To mineralogize; to collect and study minerals.
   • 1978, Eleanor Marguerite Tilton, Amiable Autocrat: A Biography of Doctor Oliver Wendell Holmes:

     He was a senior when he asked Barnes if he ever went "mineralizing," referred admiringly to Bowdoin's Professor Cleaveland, and expressed a wish to "give a good knock about the rocks in Maine."

Antonyms

• demineralize

Derived terms

• mineralizable

Translations

to convert to a mineral, petrify

• French: minéraliser (fr)
• German: mineralisieren (de)
• Irish: mianraigh
• Portuguese: mineralizar
• Spanish: mineralizar (es)

to impregnate with minerals

• French: minéraliser (fr)
• German: mineralisieren (de)
• Irish: mianraigh
• Portuguese: mineralizar
• Spanish: mineralizar (es)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Italian: ^{(please verify)} mineralizzare (it), ^{(please verify)} mineralizzarsi

Portuguese

Verb

mineralize

1. inflection of mineralizar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative