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Glite Dictionary
to vulcanize

to vulcanize

3 9.3
Treat rubber with heat and sulfur to make it stronger and more elastic
  • verb
  • /ˈvʌlkəˌnaɪz/
  • Specialized
translation icon : vulcanizar
  • The technician will vulcanize the rubber to improve its durability.
  • vulcanized rubber

Examples

  • And now she's got to make new cross links again to vulcanize it, right?

  • The assembled feet were then vulcanized in steam for two hours at 120 degrees C at 175 kN/m² pressure.

    Academic text (1990)

  • Flexco sales representative George Emigh explained that splices are often used to rejoin one-piece vulcanized belts after they fail.

    Academic text (2001)

  • Can you vulcanize my tires to make them stronger and more elastic?

  • We need to vulcanize this rubber compound before using it in the manufacturing process.

Surface Forms

vulcanize infinitive
vulcanized past
vulcanized past participle
vulcanizing present participle
vulcanizes third person singular

Morphology

vulcanize = Vulcan (semi-transparent) = vulcan + ize

Formed from the proper name 'Vulcan' + the productive verb-forming suffix '-ize'; the link to heat/forging is etymologically clear but the specific technical sense 'treat rubber with sulfur' requires historical/technical knowledge and is not obvious to most learners.

Etymology

The word vulcanize comes from Vulcan, the Roman god of fire and metal, so you can think of volcano to remember 'heat'. So to vulcanize something is to use 'heat' and often sulfur to make rubber stronger and more elastic.