lancinate

English

Etymology

First attested in 1603; borrowed from Latin lancinātus, perfect passive participle of lancinō, see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Cognate with French lanciner.

Verb

lancinate (third-person singular simple present lancinates, present participle lancinating, simple past and past participle lancinated)

1. (transitive) To pierce or stab (as with a lance); to lance.

   Synonyms: run through, spear; see also Thesaurus:stab, Thesaurus:impale

   • 2010, Siddhartha Mukherjee, The Emperor of All Maladies, Fourth Estate (2011), page 159:

     Through a minuscule pinhole in that lead block, he could now direct tiny, controlled doses of a furiously potent beam of X-rays [...] to lancinate any cancer cell to death.

Anagrams

• cantilena

Latin

Verb

lancināte

1. second-person plural present active imperative of lancinō