decrepitate
/dɪˈkɹɛpɪteɪt/ verb
Forms decrepitates decrepitating decrepitated
- verb (transitive) To roast (a salt or mineral) until it stops crackling in the fire.
- verb (intransitive) Of salts and minerals, to crackle when heated, indicating a sudden breakdown of their particles.
Etymology
Borrowed from Medieval Latin dēcrepitātus, perfect passive participle of dēcrepitō (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from Latin dē- + crepitō.
Webster’s 1913
- verb To roast or calcine so as to cause a crackling noise; as, to decrepitate salt.
- verb To crackle, as salt in roasting.
Etymology [Cf. F. décrépiter.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “decrepitate”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details