Definition

1. Noun:
   • The process of pouring a liquid, especially a clear liquid, from one container into another without disturbing the sediment or dregs at the bottom. This is a specific technique used in chemistry, winemaking, and other fields to separate a clear supernatant liquid from settled solids.

Usage

• General Use: The term is primarily used in scientific, laboratory, and industrial contexts. It describes a careful, controlled action.
• Typical Contexts: Chemistry experiments (separating a precipitate from a solution), winemaking (separating wine from sediment or lees), and cooking (separating broth from solids).

Examples

• Noun:
  • After the precipitate settled, the clear solution was obtained by decantation.
  • The winemaker performed a careful decantation to separate the aged wine from its sediment.
  • The laboratory procedure involves filtration and decantation.

Advanced Usage

• "To perform a decantation": to carry out the act of decanting.
  • The chemist performed a decantation to isolate the liquid product.
• "By decantation": indicating the method of separation used.
  • The mixture was separated by decantation rather than filtration.

Variants and Related Words

• Decant (verb): To pour out (a liquid, especially wine) gently without disturbing the sediment.
  • You should decant this vintage port before serving.
• Decanter (noun): A vessel, typically a glass bottle with a stopper, used for decanting and serving wine or other liquids.
  • He poured the wine from the bottle into a crystal decanter.

Synonyms

• Pouring off: The act of gently pouring a liquid to leave solids behind.
• Siphoning (related, but involves a tube): Transferring a liquid by means of a siphon, often to avoid sediment.

Related Phrases

• "To decant a liquid": This is the verbal phrase from which the noun is derived.
  • Remember to decant the supernatant carefully to avoid mixing the layers.

Noun

1. the act of gently pouring off a clear liquor (as from its original bottle) without disturbing the lees