acierate

1. (rare, transitive) To convert (iron) into steel, or to coat with a layer of steel by converting only the surface of the iron.Examples: "The success of an attempt to acierate iron will depend on the amount of nitrogen contained by the iron during carburation."; "As an economy measure, the manufacturer decided to use iron rather than steel, but to acierate the surface to limit oxidation."; "The effect of manganese, whose influence on acieration is known to all manufacturers, is probably due to its rapid oxidation, thus producing a metallic oxide capable of completing the fining of the iron, and this, by eliminating any foreign body, facilitates the acierating process."