defecate

English

Alternative forms

• defæcate
• defaecate

Etymology

From the participle stem of Latin dēfaecāre (“to purify”), from de- and faex (“dreg, impurity”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˈdɛfɪkeɪt/, /ˈdɛfəkeɪt/

• Audio (US)

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Verb

defecate (third-person singular simple present defecates, present participle defecating, simple past and past participle defecated)

1. (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 [...].

2. (now rare, transitive) To purge; to pass (something) as excrement.
3. (intransitive) To empty one's bowels of feces.

Usage notes

• The sense 'to purify' is rare in contrast to the common mean to empty bowels.

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

Related terms

• defecation
• fæces

Translations

to empty the bowels of feces

Chinese: 拉屎 大便 Czech: vyprázdnit se, kálet, vykálet se Danish: defækere Finnish: ulostaa (fi) French: déféquer (fr) German: defäkieren (1), koten , ausleeren Hungarian: székel (hu) Italian: defecare (it) Latin: defecare (la)

Malay: berak (ms) Polish: wypróżniać się (pl), defekować (pl) Portuguese: defecar (pt) Romanian: câca (vulgar), defeca Russian: испражняться (ispražnját’sja) Spanish: defecar (es) Swedish: ha avföring, bajsa (colloquial), skita (vulgar) Tagalog: pagdumi (tl), pagtae (tl)

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Italian

Verb form

defecate

1. second-person plural present tense and imperative of defecare.

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Latin

Verb

dēfecāte

1. second-person plural present active imperative of dēfecō