dilate en · VERB · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- /daɪˈleɪt/
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈdaɪ.leɪt/
Etymology
Etymology tree Latin dīlātōder. Old French dilaterder. Middle English dilaten English dilate First attested in 1393, in Middle English; inherited from Middle English dilaten, from Old French dilater, from Latin dīlātō (“to spread out”), from dī- + lātus (“wide”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix). Doublet of dilatate.
Meanings
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(transitive) To enlarge; to make bigger.
The eye doctor put drops in my eye to dilate the pupil so he could see the nerve better.
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(intransitive) To become wider or larger; to expand.
His heart dilates and glories in his strength.
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(ambitransitive) To speak largely and copiously; to dwell in narration; to enlarge; with "on" or "upon".
But still they on their ancient joys dilate.
1810, George Crabbe, The Borough:Houellebecq’s men[…] dilate lovingly upon the makes and models of cars and appliances, and the subsidiary brands of hospitality and conglomerates.
2024 October 24, Judith Shulevitz, “Michel Houellebecq Has Some Fresh Predictions. Be Afraid.”, in The Atlantic:Do me the favour to dilate at full / What hath befallen of them and thee till now.
c. 1594 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Comedie of Errors”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:
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(ambitransitive) To use a dilator to widen (something, such as a vagina).
An experimenter in New York has recently advocated what he is pleased to call temporary forcible dilatation of the trachea in the treatment of membranous croup, his idea being to introduce into the trachea a dilator and to forcibly dilate, every few hours if need be, and he reports favorable results.
1896, “Society Proceedings”, in The Chicago Medical Recorder, volume 10, page 62:He gave her some of the dilators he used to dilate her vagina shortly after the surgery and encouraged her to do it frequently.
2010, Kehinde Adeola Ayeni, Feasts of Phantoms, Fisher King Press, →ISBN, page 148:It is important to realize that a number of these women do not want to have their vaginismus treated but only to achieve pregnancy. […] The use of hard plastic rods with increasing diameters, a sort of pseudopenis, can be useful, provided it is explained to the woman that these rods are not used to dilate her vagina but are a means of training the relaxation of her pelvic muscles and of getting these muscles under control.
2012, Wolf Eicher, Götz Kockott, Sexology, Springer Science & Business Media, →ISBN:In very tight and obstinate stricture I sometimes dilate every day, but as soon as it has been stretched up to 23 or 24, I dilate every other day, or at greater intervals, keeping the instrument in place several minutes.
1911, Abraham Wolbarst, Gonorrhea in the Male: A Practical Guide to Its Treatment, page 148:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| dilated | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| dilated | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| dilates | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| delate | alternative | lexicographic | |
| dilating | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic |
Antonyms
Deriveds
dilatingly · dilative · bronchodilate · undilating · postdilate · nondilating · dilatometer · dilation · dilatability · dilaton · dilatometry · vasodilate · dilatative · redilate · dilatable · predilate · dilatancy
Relateds
Translations (62)
fi laajentua (to become wider or larger; to expand) · ga leathnaigh (to enlarge; to make bigger) · hu kinyújt (to enlarge; to make bigger) · pl rozszerzać (to enlarge; to make bigger) · hu tágul (to become wider or larger; to expand) · pt expandir (to become wider or larger; to expand) · bg разширявам (to enlarge; to make bigger) · it dilatare (to enlarge; to make bigger) · bg разпростирам се (to become wider or larger; to expand) · ro dilata (to enlarge; to make bigger) · ru расши́риться (to become wider or larger; to expand) · ca dilatar-se (to become wider or larger; to expand) · de dehnen (to enlarge; to make bigger) · ru увели́чивать (to enlarge; to make bigger) · de vergrößern (to enlarge; to make bigger) · de dehnen (to become wider or larger; to expand) · bg разтварям (to enlarge; to make bigger) · bg разширявам се (to become wider or larger; to expand) · nl uitzetten (to become wider or larger; to expand) · ru расши́рить (to enlarge; to make bigger) · it dilatarsi (to become wider or larger; to expand) · da udvide (to become wider or larger; to expand) · ru увели́читься (to become wider or larger; to expand) · es dilatar (to enlarge; to make bigger) · hu tágít (to enlarge; to make bigger) · es dilatarse (to become wider or larger; to expand) · de dilatieren (to become wider or larger; to expand) · io dilatar (to enlarge; to make bigger) · de weiten (to enlarge; to make bigger) · da udvide (to enlarge; to make bigger) · fr dilater (to enlarge; to make bigger) · ru увели́чить (to enlarge; to make bigger) · de erweitern (to enlarge; to make bigger) · gl dilatarse (to become wider or larger; to expand) · cmn 擴張 /扩张 (to enlarge; to make bigger) · ru расширя́ться (to become wider or larger; to expand) · da udspile (to enlarge; to make bigger) · tr büyültmek (to enlarge; to make bigger) · pt dilatar (to enlarge; to make bigger) · ru увели́чиваться (to become wider or larger; to expand) · fr se dilater (to become wider or larger; to expand) · hu nyújt (to enlarge; to make bigger) · hu kitágul (to become wider or larger; to expand) · ru расширя́ть (to enlarge; to make bigger) · hu bő lére ereszt (to speak largely and copiously; to dwell in narration) · fi laajentaa (to enlarge; to make bigger) · gl dilatar (to enlarge; to make bigger) · ga leathnaigh (to become wider or larger; to expand) · da svulme (to become wider or larger; to expand) · ca dilatar (to enlarge; to make bigger) · de sich weiten (to become wider or larger; to expand) · de dilatieren (to enlarge; to make bigger) · pl rozszerzać się (to become wider or larger; to expand) · nl dilateren (to enlarge; to make bigger) · de vergrößern (to become wider or larger; to expand) · pl rozszerzyć się (to become wider or larger; to expand) · de ausdehnen (to become wider or larger; to expand) · de weiten (to become wider or larger; to expand) · fi laajeta (to become wider or larger; to expand) · hu kitágít (to enlarge; to make bigger) · pl rozszerzyć (to enlarge; to make bigger) · da forstørre (to become wider or larger; to expand)