austenitize
|aus-ten-i-tize|
🇺🇸
/ˈɑːstənɪˌtaɪz/
🇬🇧
/ˈɔːstənɪˌtaɪz/
make (metal) into austenite
Etymology
'austenitize' originates from English, specifically from the word 'austenite' (named after the metallurgist William C. Roberts-Austen), combined with the suffix '-ize' meaning 'to make or cause to be'.
'austenitize' was formed in technical/metallurgical English in the late 19th to early 20th century from 'austenite' (the microstructure named for Roberts-Austen) plus the productive verbal suffix '-ize'; the noun 'austenite' itself was coined after the discoverer and then adapted into a verb form to describe the process.
Initially, the root 'austenite' designated a specific metallurgical phase named after a person; over time the verb 'austenitize' came to mean 'to convert (metal) into the austenite phase' and has retained that technical meaning.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Verb 1
to heat or treat a ferrous alloy so that its crystal structure transforms to austenite (the high-temperature face-centered cubic phase), i.e., to subject material to austenitization.
The technician will austenitize the steel before quenching to ensure the correct microstructure.
Synonyms
Last updated: 2025/11/22 00:40