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Today it means

contaminate

to make impure

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Where does the word "contaminate" come from? It comes from Latin contaminare, and was adopted directly into English (1400s).

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Where does the word "contaminate" come from? It comes from Latin contaminare, and was adopted directly into English (1400s).

Contaminate’s story begins in Latin: contaminare meant “to corrupt by mixing.” Related to 'contagion' and 'tangere', to touch. It reached English by 1400s as contaminate. Radioactive 'contamination' dates from the 1940s. Today, contaminate means to make impure.

  1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient contaminare "to corrupt by mixing", related to 'contagion' and 'tangere', to touch.
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1400s contaminate "to defile", radioactive 'contamination' dates from the 1940s.

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