contaminating
UK[kənˈtæmɪneɪtɪŋ]US[kənˈtæmɪneɪtɪŋ]
v
(present participle) making something impure or harmful by adding a poisonous or polluting substance.
v
(present participle) corrupting or making something morally impure.
Morpheme Breakdown
con
tamin
ating
con
together, with
tamin
to defile, to touch
ating
Etymology
the word originates from the latin verb 'contaminare', meaning 'to defile, to pollute, to bring into contact'. this verb itself is built from the prefix 'con-', intensifying 'together', and the root 'tag-', a proto-indo-european base meaning 'to touch, to handle'. the semantic journey is clear: from the literal sense of 'touching together', it evolved in latin to imply a corrupting or polluting contact. entering english via old french 'contaminer', it retained this core idea of making something impure through contact or mixture, a logic that persists in its modern scientific and moral applications.
Analysis
Structure: con + tamin + ating
con- (latin origin, meaning 'together, with'), tamin (latin origin, from 'taminare' meaning 'to defile, to touch'), -ating (english suffix, forming the present participle of verbs).
Examples
the factory was fined for contaminating the local river with industrial waste.
fear of contaminating the sterile equipment made the surgeon extra cautious.
his biased reporting was accused of contaminating the public discourse with misinformation.