Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to humify

to humify

9.9
Change dead plant material into dark, rich soil
  • verb
  • /ˈhjuːmɪfaɪ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : humificar
  • The gardener recommended that we humify the leaves to enrich the soil.

Examples

  • As the old logs decayed, they began to humify, turning into rich organic matter.

  • To improve soil fertility, it is essential to humify composted plant material.

  • Slowed decomposition and intimate contact with soil minerals in stable aggregate enable organic matter to be humified or chemically protected by association with the mineral fraction.

    Academic text (2006)

Synonyms

to compost
vsto humify
6 3.7

To make rotting plants and food into a dark mixture that helps plants grow

produces a stable dark organic soil fraction rather than general decomposed material

How Humified

to humify
  • Specialized
9.9
to decompose
  • Specialized
9 5.5
to rot
156 1.4
age
332 7.7

Surface Forms

humify infinitive
humified past
humified past participle
humifying present participle
humifies third person singular

Morphology

humify = humus (transparent) = humus + ify

The verb is a straightforward formation 'humus' + the productive suffix '-ify', meaning 'make into humus'.

Etymology

Humify comes from humus, which means 'ground' or 'soil', and the ending -fy, which means 'to make'. So to humify something is to 'make' it into humus, in other words to turn dead plants and leaves into rich soil.