pretreatmentn.adj.
/ˌpriːˈtriːtm(ə)nt/, U.S. /priˈtritm(ə)nt/ A. n.
Treatment given beforehand; an instance of this.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > undertaking > preparation > [noun] > preparation of something for use
afaitementc1400
dressing1419
readyinga1500
dressing up1526
adighting1567
fitmenta1616
fit1883
pretreatment1899
1899 Davenport (Iowa) Sunday Leader 23 July 11/5 They found some old officer's chest, which, owing probably to pretreatment of the wood, was not injured in the least by the immersion.
1925 Jrnl. Forestry 23 921 Within each pretreatment the seed experienced variations of that treatment.
1973 Times 29 Oct. 20/7 Liquid wastes from all trade and industrial sources..drain without pre-treatment in to the River Tees.
2002 H. Håkansson & A. Waluszewski Managing Technol. Devel. vi. 99 The oxygen pretreatment that was introduced in the beginning of the 1970s..made it possible to use chlorine dioxide instead of elementary chlorine in the final bleaching of the pulp.
B. adj.
Chiefly Medicine. Existing, evaluated, or carried out before treatment.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > medical treatment > [adjective] > before or after treatment
pretreatment1912
post-treatment1927
1912 Jrnl. Philos., Psychol. & Sci. Methods 9 293 The average of these two pre-treatment tests, therefore, represents the pupils' initial efficiency.
1961 Lancet 2 Sept. 499/2 This..gave an opportunity for estimation of the pretreatment level of serum-cholesterol.
1993 Brit. Jrnl. Surg. 80 414/1 Newer forms of treatment..demand accurate pretreatment diagnosis to prevent their inappropriate use for malignant disease.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.adj.1899