perforate

English

Etymology

The adjective is first attested in 1425, in Middle English, the verb in 1538; from Middle English perforat(e) (“perforated, pierced”), borrowed from Latin perforātus, the perfect passive participle of perforō (“to bore or pierce through, to perforate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from per- (“through, thorough”) + forō (“to bore, pierce”). Participial usage of the adjective up until Early Modern English.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpəːfəreɪt/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Verb

perforate (third-person singular simple present perforates, present participle perforating, simple past and past participle perforated)

1. (transitive) To pierce; to penetrate.
2. (transitive) To make a line of holes in (a thin material) to allow separation at the line.

   to perforate a sheet of postage stamps

Troponyms

• (to pierce, penetrate): drill, punch

Derived terms

• perforation
• perforator
• imperforate

Translations

to pierce or penetrate

• Basque: zulatu
• Bulgarian: пробивам (bg) (probivam), продупчвам (bg) (produpčvam)
• Catalan: perforar (ca)
• Danish: perforere
• Finnish: rei’ittää (fi), lävistää (fi), puhkaista (fi)
• Galician: perforar (gl)
• German: perforieren (de)
• Greek: διατρυπώ (el) (diatrypó), τρυπώ (el) (trypó)

  Ancient: τετραίνω (tetraínō)

• Hebrew: חוֹרֵר (khorér)
• Irish: toll
• Latin: terebrō
• Maori: pokapoka, mōhukihuki, whao, tioka
• Portuguese: perfurar (pt)
• Russian: просве́рливать (ru) (prosvérlivatʹ), проника́ть (ru) (pronikátʹ)
• Santali: ᱨᱳᱜ (rok’)
• Spanish: perforar (es)
• Swedish: perforera (sv)

to make a line of holes

• Bulgarian: перфорирам (bg) (perforiram)
• Finnish: rei’ittää (fi)
• Galician: ^{(please verify)} perforar (gl)
• Maori: tīokaoka, kōwhaowhao
• Portuguese: perfurar (pt)
• Russian: перфори́ровать (ru) (perforírovatʹ)
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} perforar (es)
• Swedish: perforera (sv)

Adjective

perforate (not comparable)

1. (obsolete, as a participle) Perforated.
   • 1626, Francis Bacon, Sylua Syluarum:

     An Earthen Pot perforate at the Bottom to let in the Plant.

2. (obsolete, as a participial adjective) Perforated, having a hole.
   • 1541, Thomas Elyot, Image of Governance:

     Suche abuses can not be longe hydde frome princis, that haue their eares perforate (as is the prouerbe).

3. (philately, biology) Perforated.
   • 1999, Nguyen Van Dzu, Peter C. Boyce, Kew Bulletin, 54(2):379-393:

     A species of remarkable appearance with mature leaf laminae often so profoundly perforate as to resemble a fragile net of tissue.

Translations

perforated — see perforated

References

• Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “perforate”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Italian

Etymology 1

Verb

perforate

1. inflection of perforare:
   1. second-person plural present indicative
   2. second-person plural imperative

Etymology 2

Participle

perforate f pl

1. feminine plural of perforato

Anagrams

• prefatore, profetare, profeterà

Latin

Verb

perforāte

1. second-person plural present active imperative of perforō

Spanish

Verb

perforate

1. second-person singular voseo imperative of perforar combined with te