fumigate, v.
(ˈfjuːmɪgeɪt)
[f. L. fūmigāt- ppl. stem of fūmigāre to smoke, f. fūmus fume n.]
1. trans. To apply smoke or fumes to; esp. to disinfect or purify by exposure to smoke or fumes.
| 1781 Cowper Let. to Newton (1884) 69 You never fumigate the ladies, or force them out of company. 1791 Hamilton Berthollet's Dyeing I. i. ii. i. 136 The silks..are fumigated with sulphur. 1803 Med. Jrnl. IX. 460 Acid fumigations bid fair to stop the progress of the complaint..though it might not always have been proper to fumigate the apartments of the sick. 1845 Florist's Jrnl. 170 Let them [plants] be frequently well fumigated. |
| fig. 1876 Geo. Eliot Dan. Der. II. xix. 7 These fine words with which we fumigate..unpleasant facts. |
b. To scent with fumes; to perfume.
| 1530 Palsgr. 559/2, I fumygate a place with a swete fumygacion, je enfume or je parfume. Let the place be well fumygate, or ever they come. 1610 B. Jonson Alch. i. i, You must be bath'd and fumigated first. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 350 With fragrant Thyme the City fumigate. 1836 Lane Mod. Egypt. I. v. 171 The Egyptians take great delight in perfumes, and often fumigate their apartments. 1860 Motley Netherl. (1868) I. v. 259 The Cathedral had been thoroughly fumigated with frankincense. |
† c. ‘To medicate or heal by vapours’ (J.). Obs.
| 1713 Swift, etc. Frenzy of J. Dennis Wks. 1755 III. i. 142 Fumigate him, I say, this very evening, while he is relieved by an interval. |
† 2. To extract in fumes, vaporize. Obs. rare.
| 1663 [see fumigated ppl. a.]. |
3. To darken (oak) by the process of fuming. See fuming vbl. n. b.
Hence ˈfumigated ppl. a.
| 1663 Boyle Usefuln. Nat. Phil. ii. v. vii. 183, I shall only subjoyn this secret, which a friend of mine practises in preserving the fumigated Juyces of Herbs. 1727 in Bailey vol. II. 18.. Beck's Jrnl. Dec. Art II. 346 (Cent.) A high dado, 8 ft. high, of fumigated oak. |