bifurcate - Definitions from Dictionary.com

8 results for: bifurcate

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

bi·fur·cate

Audio Help [v., adj. bahy-fer-keyt, bahy-fur-keyt; adj. also bahy-fer-kit, bahy-fur-] Pronunciation Key verb, -cat·ed, -cat·ing, adjective

–verb (used with object), verb (used without object)

1.	to divide or fork into two branches.

–adjective

2.	divided into two branches.

[Origin: 1605–15; < ML bifurcātus, ptp. of bifurcāre (bi- bi-¹ + furc(a) fork + -ātus -ate¹)

]

—Related forms

bi·fur·cate·ly

Audio Help [bahy-fer-keyt-lee; bahy-fur-keyt-lee, -kit-] Pronunciation Key, adverb

bi·fur·ca·tion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
bifurcate

To learn more about bifurcate visit Britannica.com

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

bi·fur·cate Audio Help   (bī'fər-kāt', bī-fûr'-) Pronunciation Key
v.   bi·fur·cat·ed, bi·fur·cat·ing, bi·fur·cates

v.   tr.
To divide into two parts or branches.

v.   intr.
To separate into two parts or branches; fork.

adj.   (-kāt', -kĭt)
Forked or divided into two parts or branches, as the Y-shaped styles of certain flowers.

[Medieval Latin bifurcāre, bifurcāt-, to divide, from Latin bifurcus, two-pronged : bi-, two; see bi-¹ + furca, fork.]

bi'fur·cate'ly adv., bi'fur·ca'tion n.

(Download Now or Buy the Book)

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
bifurcate

1615, from M.L. bifurcatus, from L. bi- + furca, the root of fork.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

bifurcate
adjective
1.	resembling a fork; divided or separated into two branches; "the biramous appendages of an arthropod"; "long branched hairs on its legson which pollen collects"; "a forked river"; "a forked tail"; "forked lightning"; "horseradish grown in poor soil may develop prongy roots"
verb
1.	split or divide into two
2.	divide into two branches; "The road bifurcated"

The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

bifurcate Audio Help (bī'fər-kāt', bī-fûr'-) Pronunciation Key
Forked or divided into two parts or branches, as the Y-shaped styles of certain flowers or the tongues of snakes.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Bifurcate

Bi*fur"cate\, Bifurcated \Bi*fur"ca*ted\, a. [Pref. bi- + furcate.] Two-pronged; forked.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Bifurcate

Bi*fur"cate\, v. i. To divide into two branches.

Dictionary.com Word of the Day Archive - Cite This Source - Share This

bifurcate

bifurcate was Word of the Day on April 9, 2000.

Dictionary.com Word of the Day

Browse Nearby Entries: