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fumigate

[fyoo-mi-geyt]
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verb (used with object), fu·mi·gat·ed, fu·mi·gat·ing.
  1. to expose to smoke or fumes, as in disinfecting or exterminating roaches, ants, etc.
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Origin of fumigate

1520–30; < Latin fūmigātus, past participle of fūmigāre to smoke, fumigate, equivalent to fūm(us) smoke + -igāre (v. suffix based on -ig-, noun derivative of agere to drive, do, as in remex, stem remig- oarsman, hence remigāre to row)
Related formsfu·mi·ga·tion, nounfu·mi·ga·to·ry [fyoo-mi-guh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee, -gey-tuh-ree] /ˈfyu mɪ gəˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i, -ˌgeɪ tə ri/, adjectivesub·fu·mi·ga·tion, nounun·fu·mi·gat·ed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

ventilationairingfumigation

Examples from the Web for fumigation

Historical Examples

  • Things that are only shown twice in the year or so, with fumigation!

    Hortus Inclusus

    John Ruskin

  • It may be necessary to resort to fumigation, but this should be done by an expert.

  • The method most generally adopted for their destruction is fumigation with tobacco.

    Talks about Flowers.

    M. D. Wellcome

  • Spirocide is administered by means of fumigation and inhalation.

  • All this fumigation and manipulation is intended to act as a preventive.

    The Child in the Midst

    Mary Schauffler Labaree

British Dictionary definitions for fumigation

fumigate

verb
  1. to treat (something contaminated or infected) with fumes or smoke
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Derived Formsfumigation, nounfumigator, noun

Word Origin

C16: from Latin fūmigāre to smoke, steam, from fūmus smoke + agere to drive, produce
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for fumigation

n.

late 14c., "make aromatic smoke as part of a ceremony," from Old French fumigation, from Latin fumigationem (nominative fumigatio) "a smoking," noun of action from past participle stem of fumigare "to smoke," from fumus "smoke, fume" (see fume) + root of agere "to drive" (see act (n.)). Sense of "exposure (of someone or something) to aromatic fumes" is c.1400, originally as a medicinal or therapeutic treatment.

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fumigate

v.

1520s, back-formation from fumigation. Related: Fumigated; fumigating.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
fumigation in Medicine

fumigate

(fyōō′mĭ-gāt′)
v.
  1. To subject to smoke or fumes, usually in order to exterminate pests or disinfect.
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Related formsfu′mi•ga′tion n.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.