defecate
Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary
Contents |
[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
From the participle stem of Latin dēfaecāre (“‘to purify’”), from de- + faex (“‘dreg, impurity’”).
[edit] Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA: /ˈdɛfɪkeɪt/, /ˈdɛfəkeɪt/
- Audio (US)help, file
[edit] Alternative spellings
[edit] Verb
|
Infinitive |
Third person singular |
Simple past |
Past participle |
Present participle |
to 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, (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