penetrate
See also: penetrãte
EnglishEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Latin penētrātus, past participle of penētrō (“to put, set, or place within, enter, pierce, penetrate”), from penes (“within, with”) by analogy to intrō (“to go in, enter”).
PronunciationEdit
VerbEdit
penetrate (third-person singular simple present penetrates, present participle penetrating, simple past and past participle penetrated)
- To enter into; to make way into the interior of; to pierce.
- Light penetrates darkness.
- 1879, Th Du Moncel, The Telephone, the Microphone and the Phonograph, Harper, page 166:
- He takes the prepared charcoal used by artists, brings it to a white heat, and suddenly plunges it in a bath of mercury, of which the globules instantly penetrate the pores of charcoal, and may be said to metallize it.
- (figuratively) To achieve understanding of, despite some obstacle; to comprehend; to understand.
- I could not penetrate Burke's opaque rhetoric.
- (Can we date this quote by Ray and provide title, author's full name, and other details?)
- things which here were too subtile for us to penetrate
- To affect profoundly through the senses or feelings; to move deeply.
- to penetrate one's heart with pity
- (Can we date this quote by M. Arnold and provide title, author's full name, and other details?)
- The translator of Homer should penetrate himself with a sense of the plainness and directness of Homer's style.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)
- To infiltrate an enemy to gather intelligence.
- To insert the penis into an opening, such as a vagina or anus. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
- (chess) To move a piece past the defending pieces of one's opponent.
Derived termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
enter into
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insert the penis into an opening, such as a vagina
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Further readingEdit
- penetrate in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- penetrate in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
- penetrate at OneLook Dictionary Search
EsperantoEdit
PronunciationEdit
VerbEdit
penetrate
- present adverbial passive participle of penetri
ItalianEdit
VerbEdit
penetrate
- second-person plural present indicative of penetrare
- second-person plural imperative of penetrare
- feminine plural of penetrato
LatinEdit
VerbEdit
penetrāte