The word for today is…

vulcanize (transitive verb) : to subject to vulcanization

Source : Merriam – Webster

Etymology : Vulcanization involves heating rubber in combination with sulfur. The Roman god Vulcan (whose Greek counterpart is Hephaestus) was the god of fire and of skills that used fire, such as metalworking. So when Charles Goodyear discovered that high heat would result in stronger rubber, he called the process “vulcanization” after the god of fire. Goodyear stumbled upon the idea in 1839 and acquired a patent for it in 1844, but the words “vulcanize” and “vulcanization” didn’t appear in print until 1845 and 1846 respectively.

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David is a retired surgeon originally from London who came to New Zealand twenty-seven years ago after being delayed in Singapore for thirteen years on leaving the UK. He was coerced into studying Latin...