Origin: 1530–40; < LL ēlongātus lengthened out, ptp. of ēlongāre to make longer, make distant, remove, equiv. to L ē-e-+ -longāre, deriv. of longuslong, longē far off
Main Entry: 1elon·gate Pronunciation: i-'lo[ng]-"gAt Function: verb Inflected Forms: -gat·ed; -gat·ing transitivesenses : to extend the length of elongateintransitive senses : to grow in length
Main Entry: 2elongate Variant: orelon·gat·ed Function: adjective : long in proportion to width <elongate cells>