macination

Macination is a seldom-used English noun describing the act or process of grinding, pulverizing, or crushing a solid substance. It appears primarily in historical, alchemical, pharmaceutical, or mining texts rather than in modern scientific literature, where milling or grinding are preferred.

The term has roots in older European technical language and is generally considered archaic. It is distinct from maceration, which means softening or extracting by soaking; macination implies reduction to a finer particulate rather than a liquid extraction.

In historical contexts, macination described preparatory steps in metallurgy, ore processing, pigment production, and pharmacognosy where solids were ground to powders for further use or analysis. In pharmacopoeias and early chemistry texts, it referred to grinding active ingredients for compounding.

Today, macination is rarely used outside niche discussions; modern texts use milling, grinding, pulverization, or comminution. Because it is obscure, its precise sense can vary by author; context is needed to determine whether it refers to coarse or fine grinding.