Dictionary

intercalate en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˌɪn.tə.kəˈleɪt/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ɪnˈtɜː.kəl.eɪt/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ɪnˈtɝ.kəˌleɪt/ (General-American)

Etymology

The verb is first attested in 1614, the noun in 1964; borrowed from Latin intercalātus, perfect passive participle of intercalō (“to proclaim that a day, an event, etc. has been intercalated; to insert”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (noun-forming suffix)), from inter- (“between, among”) + calō (“to call; to proclaim”).

Meanings

1. (attributive, often) An atom or molecule, or a substance, that enters between the layers of the crystal lattice of another substance, especially that of graphite.
   • Entry of intercalate molecules from the edge of basal planes of crystallites must be kept sufficiently slow to mitigate mechanical strains..before the intercalate has spread uniformly through any layer. 1968, Proceedings of the Royal Society, series A, volume 304. 26:
2. A compound formed by foreign atoms or molecules entering between the layers of a crystal lattice, especially that of graphite.

Forms

intercalate en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /ˌɪn.tə.kəˈleɪt/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ɪnˈtɜː.kəl.eɪt/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ɪnˈtɝ.kəˌleɪt/ (General-American)

Etymology

The verb is first attested in 1614, the noun in 1964; borrowed from Latin intercalātus, perfect passive participle of intercalō (“to proclaim that a day, an event, etc. has been intercalated; to insert”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (noun-forming suffix)), from inter- (“between, among”) + calō (“to call; to proclaim”).

Meanings

1. To insert an extra leap day into a calendar in order to maintain synchrony with natural phenomena.
   • '[T]is wonderful where or when we ever got anything of this which we call wisdom, poetry, virtue. We never got it on any dated calendar day. Some heavenly days must have been intercalated somewhere. 1844, Ralph Waldo Emerson, chapter 2, in Essays: Second Series:
   • At some unknown period, the five days, known to the present time by the names of the five Gathic hymns of Zarathushtra, were intercalated at the end of the twelfth month, to complete the three hundred and sixty-five days of the solar year. 1922, Maneckji Nusservanji Dhalla, Zoroastrian Civilization, page 172:
2. To insert an extra month into a calendar for the same purpose, such as for the Hebrew calendar.
   • The Sages once overheard three shepherds discussing what weather is characteristic of Adar, and if that weather does not occur, it is not really Adar. As a result, the Sages intercalated the year and added Adar II. 2024, David Golinkin, “What Is The Purpose And History Of Adar II”, in Responsa in a Moment, volume 4, page 85:
3. (qualifier:molecular biology) To insert a substance between two or more molecules, bases, cells, or tissues.
4. To insert anything somewhere (especially between other things), such as an affix into a word. (Compare interpolate.)
   • -erole ← -er- (< -ÅR) + -ole ( < -EOLU): maierole. A lengthened var. of -ole, this suffix appears in the late Middle Ages, formed through “false division”, namely the secondary rapprochement of, say, bannerole (banniere + -ole) or casserole with ban- or cass-. Is the -er- […] intercalated for rhythmic of differentiatory purposes? This "interfix" conveys no semantic message: It simply serves as an occasionally handy grammatical tool. 1969, Romance Philology, volume 23, page 298:
   • Description: Color translucent white; shell cap shaped; sculpture of approximately 40 radiating ribs with intercalated threads alternating between ribs; concentric ribs intersecting radial ribs; anal fasciole relatively short, […] 2010, John Wesley Tunnell, Encyclopedia of Texas Seashells: Identification, Ecology, Distribution, and History, Texas A&M University Press, →ISBN, page 111:
   • Sometimes f or s is intercalated to lighten the pronunciation : kommen, Kunft ; können, Kunst ; […] 1894, William Winston Valentine, Phonology and morphology, page 361:
   • ... they were interpreted and modified in the light of Pythagorean harmonies and other mystical manipulations of vowels and letters. The intercalated letters are intended to be the first ten letters of the alphabet as in line 602ff. 1971, Moses Gaster, Studies and Texts in Folklore, Magic, Mediaeval Romance, Hebrew Apocrypha, and Samaritan Archaeology, KTAV Publishing House, Inc., →ISBN, page 455:
   • ... the personal pronouns which form the terminations of the verb, or by an intercalated suffix, the nature and relation of its objects and its subject , and to distinguish whether the object be animate or inanimate, ... 1828, The British Critic, Quarterly Theological Review, and Ecclesiastical Record, page 56:

Forms

Deriveds

deintercalate · intercalation · intercalary

Relateds

bissextile · bissextile month · leap day · bissextile year · leap year

Translations (10)

es intercalar (insert a substance between two or more molecules, bases, cells, or tissues) · bg вмъквам (insert an extra day into a calendar) · bg внедрявам (insert a substance between two or more molecules, bases, cells, or tissues) · cmn 插层 (insert a substance between two or more molecules, bases, cells, or tissues) · es intercalar (insert an extra day into a calendar) · fr intercaler (insert an extra day into a calendar) · mi kōkuhu marama (insert an extra month into a calendar) · mi kōkuhu matū (insert a substance between two or more molecules, bases, cells, or tissues) · mi kōkuhu rā (insert an extra day into a calendar) · es intercalar (insert an extra month into a calendar)