defecate
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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[edit] English
[edit] Alternative forms
[edit] Etymology
From the participle stem of Latin dēfaecāre (“to purify”), from de- and faex (“dreg, impurity”).
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Verb
defecate (third-person singular simple present defecates, present participle defecating, simple past and past participle defecated)
- (now rare) To purify, to clean of dregs etc.
- 1621, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, New York 2001, p. 224:
- Some are of opinion that such fat, standing waters make the best beer, and that seething doth defecate it [...].
- 1621, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, New York 2001, p. 224:
- (now rare, transitive) To purge; to pass (something) as excrement.
- (intransitive) To empty one's bowels of feces.
[edit] Usage notes
- The sense 'to purify' is rare in contrast to the common mean to empty bowels.
[edit] Synonyms
- (void one’s bowels): (slang) crap, (obsolete) drite, (slang) dump, (informal) pinch a loaf, (informal, humorous) drop a bomb, (informal, humorous) drop the kids off at the pool, (vulgar) shit, (vulgar) shite, (slang) take a dump, (informal) drop a deuce
- See also Wikisaurus:defecate
[edit] Related terms
[edit] Translations
to empty the bowels of feces
[edit] Italian
[edit] Verb form
defecate
[edit] Latin
[edit] Verb
dēfecāte
- second-person plural present active imperative of dēfecō