v. [ad. F. bonifie-r (in Cotgr.), f. L. bonus good + -fier:—L. -ficāre to make.]
† 1. trans. To do good to, benefit. Obs.
1603. Florio, Montaigne (1634), 493. To bonifie or benefit.
2. To make good, turn into good.
1678. Cudworth, Intell. Syst., 221. To be able to Bonifie Evils, or Tincture them with Good. Ibid., 876. The Divine Art … appeareth, in Bonifying these Evils.
1880. Minerva, Aug., 177. The Romans did … bonify the air and soil of their city by filling up marshes and constructing sewers.
