aerate, v.
(ˈeɪəreɪt, ˈɛər-)
[f. L. aer air + -ate3, prob. after Fr. aér-er, a latinized spelling of OFr. airer, ayrer, f. air.]
1. To expose to the free (mechanical) action of air, to supply with air. Also fig.
| 1799 W. Nicol Pract. Planter iv. 121 If we admit that fallowing and aerating land is of advantage. 1851 Fraser's Mag. XLIII. 633/1 Mopping the dew from their brows, or aerating their persons in the breeze. 1856 Farmer's Mag. Jan. 20 Mineral nutriment..could not be restored by his process of stirring and aërating without help from manure. 1879 Wrightson in Cassell's Techn. Educ. I. 78/2 The soil between the drains must be thoroughly aërated. 1958 Listener 23 Oct. 665/2 Not a breath of this was allowed to aerate this particular talk. |
2. To expose to the chemical action of air; to oxygenate (the blood) by respiration.
| 1794 E. Darwin Zoonomia I. 7 The blood..has been thus aerated in the lungs. 1860 Hartwig Sea xi. 203 The crustacean possesses a heart, which propels the blood, after it has been aerated in the gills. |
3. To charge (a substance) with carbonic acid gas, formerly called fixed air. (Usually in the pple. aerated.)
| 1905 Harmsworth Encycl. I. 82/1 A more recent introduction is the sparklet. This is a bottle with a hollow removable screw top, for holding a soft steel capsule containing liquid carbon dioxide sufficient to aerate the bottle of water. |