conjugate

English

Etymology

From the participle stem of Latin coniugāre (“to yoke together”), from con- (“with”) +‎ iugāre (“join, bind, connect”).

Pronunciation

• • IPA^(key): /ˈkɒndʒəɡeɪt/

  • Audio (UK):

    (file)

• • IPA^(key): /ˈkɒndʒəɡət/

Verb

conjugate (third-person singular simple present conjugates, present participle conjugating, simple past and past participle conjugated)

1. (grammar, transitive) To inflect (a verb) for each person, in order, for one or more tenses; to list or recite its principal parts.

   In English, the verb 'to be' is conjugated as follows: 'I am', 'you are', 'he/she/it is', 'we are', 'you are', 'they are'.

2. (mathematics) To multiply on the left by one element and on the right by its inverse.
3. (rare) To join together, to unite; to juxtapose.
   • 2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin 2003, p. 55:

     The effects of hunger were often conjugated with epidemic disease.

4. (biology, of bacteria and algae) To temporarily fuse, exchanging or transferring DNA.

Hypernyms

• inflect

Translations

to inflect (a verb) for each person

• Armenian: խոնարհել (hy) (xonarhel)
• Asturian: conxugar
• Azerbaijani: dəyişdirmək (az), təsrif etmək
• Belarusian: спрага́ць impf (sprahácʹ)
• Bulgarian: спряга́м impf (sprjagám)
• Catalan: conjugar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 变位 (zh) (biànwèi)

• Cornish: kesyewa
• Czech: časovat (cs) impf
• Dutch: vervoegen (nl)
• Estonian: pöörama
• Faroese: benda
• Finnish: taivuttaa (fi)
• French: conjuguer (fr)
• Galician: conxugar
• Georgian: უღლება (uɣleba)
• German: konjugieren (de)
• Greek: κλίνω (el) (klíno), κλίνομαι (klínomai) [passive (proportional attitude)]
• Hebrew: היטה (hitá)
• Hungarian: ragoz (hu)
• Ido: konjugar (io)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: coniugare (it)
• Luxembourgish: konjugéieren
• Macedonian: конјуги́ра impf or pf (konjugíra)
• Norman: conjudgi
• Occitan: conjugar (oc)
• Polish: (intransitive) odmieniać (pl) impf, konjugować impf
• Portuguese: conjugar (pt)
• Romanian: conjuga (ro)
• Russian: спряга́ть (ru) impf (sprjagátʹ), проспряга́ть (ru) pf (prosprjagátʹ) (transitive), спряга́ться (ru) impf (sprjagátʹsja), проспряга́ться pf (prosprjagátʹsja) (intransitive)
• Scottish Gaelic: co-naisg
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: коњуги́рати impf or pf

  Roman: konjugírati (sh) impf or pf

• Sicilian: cuniugari (scn)
• Slovak: časovať impf
• Slovene: spregati (sl) impf
• Spanish: conjugar (es)
• Swedish: böja (sv)
• Turkish: çekimlemek (tr)
• Ukrainian: відмі́нювати (uk) impf (vidmínjuvaty)
• Vietnamese: chia động từ
• Volapük: konyugön (vo)

See also

• decline

Noun

conjugate (plural conjugates)

1. Any entity formed by joining two or more smaller entities together.
2. (algebra, of a complex number) A complex conjugate.
3. (algebra) More generally, any of a set of irrational or complex numbers that are zeros of the same polynomial with integral coefficients.
4. (algebra, field theory, of an element of an extension field) Given a field extension L / K and an element α ∈ L, any other element β ∈ L that is another root of the minimal polynomial of α over K.
5. (mathematics) An explementary angle.
6. (grammar) A word agreeing in derivation with another word, and therefore generally resembling it in meaning.
   • 17th c, John Bramhall,

     We have learned in logic, that conjugates are sometimes in name only, and not in deed.

7. (immunology) A weak and a strong antigen covalently linked together

Translations

entity formed by joining smaller ones

• Bulgarian: съединение (bg) n (sǎedinenie)
• Finnish: yhdistelmä (fi), konjugaatti
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Portuguese: conjugado m
• Russian: объедине́ние (ru) n (obʺjedinénije)

math: complex conjugate — see complex conjugate

math: any of a set of zeros of a polynomial

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

math: explementary angle

• Finnish: eksplementtikulma
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Bulgarian: ^{(please verify)} съединение (bg) n (sǎedinenie)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Swedish: ^{(please verify)} konjugat (sv)

Adjective

conjugate (not comparable)

1. United in pairs; yoked together; coupled.
   • 1941 June, Cecil J. Allen, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 290:

     Some of the most widely-applied Gresley features will doubtless long remain a subject of controversy among locomotive engineers, and in particular his patent conjugate valve-motion for 3-cylinder engines, whereby the piston-valve of the middle cylinder derives its motion from the two outside Walschaerts valve-gears.

   Antonym: dysconjugate

2. (botany) In single pairs; coupled.
3. (chemistry) Containing two or more radicals supposed to act the part of a single one.
4. (grammar) Agreeing in derivation and radical signification; said of words.
5. (mathematics) Presenting themselves simultaneously and having reciprocal properties; said of quantities, points, lines, axes, curves, etc.

Related terms

• conjugal

Translations

chemistry: containing two or more radicals supposed to act the part of a single one

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: konjugált (hu)