LIGNIFY

lignify

(verb) convert into wood or cause to become woody

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Verb

lignify (third-person singular simple present lignifies, present participle lignifying, simple past and past participle lignified)

(intransitive) To become wood.

(intransitive, botany) To develop woody tissue as a result of incrustation of lignin during secondary growth.

(intransitive, by extension) To become rigid or fixed, like something made of wood.

(transitive) To turn into wood; to make ligneous.

Source: Wiktionary

Lig"ni*fy, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Lignified; p. pr. & vb. n. Lignifying.] Etym: [L. lignum wood + -fy: cf. F. lignifier.] (Bot.)

Definition: To convert into wood or into a ligneous substance.

Lig"ni*fy, v. i. (Bot.)

Definition: To become wood.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition