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dilate

Pronunciation: /daɪˈleɪt/

The English word “dilate” has 7 meanings listed here.

verb

  1. To enlarge; to make bigger.
  2. To become wider or larger; to expand.
  3. To speak largely and copiously; to dwell in narration; to enlarge; with "on" or "upon".
  4. To use a dilator to widen (something, such as a vagina).
  5. To delay, defer.
  6. To prolong, lengthen.

adjective

  1. Carried in different ways, spread, abroad, dispersed, published.

Etymology

First attested in 1399, in Middle English; inherited from Middle English dilaten (“to delay, tarry”), borrowed from Latin dīlātus, perfect passive participle of Latin dīfferō (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)). If so, Doublet of defer and differ; see also infer, relate and refer, collate and confer, delate and defer, as well as prefer and prelate among others. Alternatively, from Latin dīlātō, see…

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.