nitrifyv.
/ˈnʌɪtrᵻfʌɪ/, U.S. /ˈnaɪtrəˌfaɪ/ Chemistry and Biology.
1. transitive. Originally: to convert into or enrich with nitre; †to make (air) nitrous (obsolete). Now: spec. (chiefly of bacteria) to convert (ammonia) into a nitrite or nitrate. Also intransitive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > chemical substances > salts > treat with salts or alums [verb (transitive)] > convert into or impregnate with nitre
nitrify1827
the world > matter > chemistry > chemical reactions or processes > subject to chemical reactions or processes [verb (transitive)] > subject to named chemical reaction or process > subject to nitrification
nitrify1872
1827 Philos. Mag. 2nd Ser. 1 174 The putrescent blood was at the distance of two feet from the carbonate of lime, which it is pretended that it nitrified.
1872 C. B. Fox Ozone 21 It may be said generally, that the direct spark passing through air nitrifies it.
1885 Trans. Norfolk Naturalists' Soc. 4 18 The special organism which nitrifies ammonia exists in the surface soil of all fertile land.
1932 G. D. Fuller & H. S. Conard tr. J. Braun-Blanquet Plant Sociol. viii. 239 Probably all communities of the Molinion nitrify abundantly.
1957 G. E. Hutchinson Treat. Limnol. I. xvi. 837 A considerable part of the ammonia so formed is nitrified.
1962 H. S. McKee Nitrogen Metabolism in Plants iv. 112 These heterotrophs nitrify more completely than the autotrophic species.
1995 Lett. Appl. Microbiol. 21 18/1 The aim of this report was..to study the ability of a range of fungi to: (1) nitrify ammonium; and (2) hydrolyse urea and nitrify the released ammonium to nitrate.
2. intransitive. Chiefly of a soil: to undergo nitrification. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > chemical reactions or processes > undergo chemical reactions or processes [verb (intransitive)] > undergo chemical reactions or processes (named) > undergo nitrification
nitrify1827
the world > matter > chemistry > chemical substances > salts > [verb (intransitive)] > become nitrous
nitrify1827
1827 Philos. Mag. 2nd Ser. 1 176 Chevraud met with compact chalks which did not nitrify.
1878 Jrnl. Chem. Soc. 33 46 10 grams of a vegetable soil, known to nitrify with ease, were washed with water.
1884 Nature 30 Oct. 645/1 A thin layer of solution will nitrify sooner than a deep layer.
1892 H. F. Morley & M. M. P. Muir Watts' Dict. Chem. (rev. ed.) III. 521/2 A little vegetable earth which was known to nitrify easily.
1983 Plant & Soil 65 281 Soils having pH more than 6.0 nitrified at a rapid rate and released NO3-N ranging from 98–123 μg/g.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
v.1827