condense (v.)
early 15c., "thicken, make more dense or compact" (implied in condensed), from Old French condenser (14c.) or directly from Latin condensare "to make dense," from assimilated form of com-, here perhaps an intensive prefix (see com-), + densare "make thick," from densus "dense, thick, crowded," a word used of crowds, darkness, clouds, etc. (see dense).
Sense in chemistry and physics, "to reduce to another and denser form" (as a gas or vapor to a liquid) is from 1660s. Intransitive sense "become denser" is from 1650s. Related: Condensed; condensing.
Entries linking to condense
word-forming element usually meaning "with, together," from Latin com, archaic form of classical Latin cum "together, together with, in combination," from PIE *kom- "beside, near, by, with" (compare Old English ge-, German ge-). The prefix in Latin sometimes was used as an intensive.
Before vowels and aspirates, it is reduced to co-; before -g-, it is assimilated to cog- or con-; before -l-, assimilated to col-; before -r-, assimilated to cor-; before -c-, -d-, -j-, -n-, -q-, -s-, -t-, and -v-, it is assimilated to con-, which was so frequent that it often was used as the normal form.
early 15c., "closely compacted, thick," from Latin densus "thick, crowded; cloudy," which is of uncertain etymology, perhaps related to Greek dasys "hairy, shaggy; thick with leaves," as a grammatical term, "aspirated," but even this is in doubt. Figurative sense of "difficult to penetrate" (of writing, etc.) is from 1732; that of "stupid" is first recorded 1822. Related: Densely; denseness.
updated on June 27, 2021
Dictionary entries near condense
condemnation
condemnatory
condemned
condensate
condensation
condense
condensed
condenser
condescend
condescendence
condescending
