Dictionary

vulcanize en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio
• /ˈvʌl.kə.naɪz/

Etymology

Etymology tree English Vulcan Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íd͏̌d͏̌ō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō)bor. Late Latin -izōder. Middle French -iserbor. Middle English -isen English -ize English vulcanize From Vulcan + -ize.

Meanings

1. (transitive) To treat rubber with heat and (usually) sulfur to harden it and make it more durable.
   • Local workers hike up the side of the mountain and down into the crater at the top to harvest its sulfur—a byproduct of the gas that escapes from the volcano’s vents and collects near the shores of an acidic lake at the crater’s center. The chemical is used in industry worldwide, from making matchsticks to vulcanizing rubber, but Ijen’s sulfur goes mostly to local factories, which use it to bleach sugar. 2015 February 25, Kevin McElvaney, “Inside Indonesia's Ijen Volcano”, in The Atlantic, archived from the original on 06 Mar 2016:
2. (intransitive) To undergo such treatment.
   • Natural rubber […] vulcanizes readily at the double bonds to give a strong cross-linked structure. 2012, Theodore Rochow, Resinography:
   • These vulcanized hearts, they only become more resistant when you ask for mercy. 1976 September, Saul Bellow, Humboldt’s Gift, New York, N.Y.: Avon Books, →ISBN, page 404:

Forms

Deriveds

devulcanize · vulcanizable · revulcanize · vulcanized fiber · vulcanizer · vulcanizate · vulcanisation · vulcanization

Relateds

vulcanite · vulcanology · Vulcan · vulcanicity

Translations (22)

cmn 硫化 (to harden rubber with heat) · it vulcanizzare (to harden rubber with heat) · ru вулканизова́ть (to harden rubber with heat) · vi lưu hóa (to harden rubber with heat) · fi vulkanoida (to harden rubber with heat) · pt vulcanizar (to harden rubber with heat) · ar فَلْكَنَ (to harden rubber with heat) · bg вулканизирам (to harden rubber with heat) · ar بَرْكَنَ (to harden rubber with heat) · ja 加硫する (to harden rubber with heat) · gl vulcanizar (to harden rubber with heat) · fr vulcaniser (to harden rubber with heat) · ka ვულკანიზირება (to harden rubber with heat) · ca vulcanitzar (to harden rubber with heat) · es vulcanizar (to harden rubber with heat) · ru вулканизи́ровать (to harden rubber with heat) · nl vulkaniseren (to harden rubber with heat) · mk вулканизи́ра (to harden rubber with heat) · io vulkanizar (to harden rubber with heat) · ro vulcaniza (to harden rubber with heat) · gv vulcaanee (to harden rubber with heat) · de vulkanisieren (to harden rubber with heat)