impregnation

Etymology

From Middle English impregnacioun, from Old French impregnacion, in turn from Late Latin impregnatio.

noun

1. The act of making pregnant; fertilization.
2. The fact or process of imbuing or saturating with something; diffusion of some element, idea etc. through a medium or substance.
3. That with which anything is impregnated.
4. (geology) An ore deposit, with indefinite boundaries, consisting of rock impregnated with ore.
   Oil-shales are often the last relics of a former impregnation with petroleum; they are associated with phenomena—such as the intrusive asphaltites or manjacks—common to petroliferous regions, but in many cases the parent oilfields, the sources of the former impregnation, are things of the past. 1922, Intermountain Industry and Engineering: Official Publication: Utah Motor Transport Ass'n, volume 24