titivate

WOTD – 13 April 2010    

English

Alternative forms

• tidivate
• tiddivate
• tittivate

Etymology

Modification of earlier spelling tidivate, perhaps based on tidy + -vate, on the pattern of words like cultivate and renovate.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA: /ˈtɪt.ɪ.veɪt/, /ˈtɪt.ə.veɪt/

Verb

titivate (third-person singular simple present titivates, present participle titivating, simple past and past participle titivated)

1. To make small improvements or alterations to (one's appearance etc.); to add some finishing touches to.

Derived terms

• titivation
• titivator

Translations

to make small improvements to

• Bulgarian: украсявам се, спретвам се
• Finnish: huolitella (fi), viimeistellä (fi); (colloquial) huosia (fi), pyntätä (fi), tällätä (fi), hiplata (fi)
• French: pomponner (fr)

• German: schniedeln (de)
• Russian: наряжать (ru) (narjažatʹ), наряжаться (ru) (narjažatʹsja), прихорашивать (ru) (prixorašivatʹ), прихорашиваться (ru) (prixorašivatʹsja)
• Spanish: arreglar (es), afeitar (es), adornar (es), vestirse de gala (es)