contaminate
pronunciation
How to pronounce contaminate in British English:
UK 
How to pronounce contaminate in American English:
US
Word Origin
- contaminate
- contaminate: [15] Contaminate appears to come from the same ultimate source as contact, a base *tag- ‘touch’, which produced the Latin verb tangere ‘touch’ (whence English tactile, tangent, and tangible). It seems also to have formed the basis of a compound Latin noun *contagmen ‘contact, pollution’, which became altered to contāmen. From this was derived the verb contamināre, whose past participle gave English contaminate.=> contact, tactile, tangible
- contaminate (v.)
- early 15c., from Old French contaminer, from Latin contaminatus, past participle of contaminare "to defile," from contamen "contact, pollution," from com- "together" (see com-) + *tag-, base of tangere "to touch" (see tangent (adj.)). Related: Contaminant (1934); contaminable.
Example
- 1. Chopsticks irresponsibly disposed of can contaminate water and soil quality .
- 2. All over the world , oil spills regularly contaminate coasts .
- 3. Contaminate waters around a country like north korea
- 4. There have already been concerns that genes in modified maize could travel and contaminate non-gm farms growing organic food .
- 5. Critics fear that fracking can contaminate ground and surface water or even cause gas to leak into domestic water supplies .