To convert into or treat with starch or a starch-like substance.
From amyl- (relating to starch, from Greek amylon meaning starch) plus the suffix -ate (to become or cause to become). The root amylon comes from a meaning 'not ground' in Greek.
This verb represents how chemists take a root word and create action verbs by adding -ate, the same pattern used in oxidate, hydrogenate, and chlorinate—it's like a universal chemistry suffix that means 'to cause this process to happen.'
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