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expectorate

 - 5 dictionary results

ex⋅pec⋅to⋅rate

  [ik-spek-tuh-reyt] verb, -rat⋅ed, -rat⋅ing.
Use expectorate in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. to eject or expel matter, as phlegm, from the throat or lungs by coughing or hawking and spitting; spit.
–verb (used with object)
2. to eject or expel (matter) in this way.
Origin:
1595–1605; < L expectorātus (ptp. of expectorāre to expel from the breast), equiv. to ex- ex- 1 + pector- (s. of pectus) breast + -ātus -ate 1

Related forms:
ex⋅pec⋅to⋅ra⋅tor, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To expectorate
ex·pec·to·rate   (ĭk-spěk'tə-rāt')   
v.   ex·pec·to·rat·ed, ex·pec·to·rat·ing, ex·pec·to·rates

v.   tr.

  1. To eject from the mouth; spit.

  2. To cough up and eject by spitting.

v.   intr.

  1. To spit.

  2. To clear out the chest and lungs by coughing up and spitting out matter.


[Latin expectorāre, expectorāt-, to drive from the chest : ex-, ex- + pectus, pector-, chest.]
ex·pec'to·ra'tion n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

expectorate 
1601, "to clear out the chest or lungs," from L. expectoratus, pp. of expectore "scorn, expel from the mind," lit. "make a clean breast," from ex- "out" + pectus (gen. pectoris) "breast." Use as a euphemism for "spit" is first recorded 1827. Original sense in expectorant (1811).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: ex·pec·to·rate
Pronunciation: -t&-"rAt
Function: verb
Inflected Forms: -rat·ed; -rat·ing
transitive senses
1 : to eject from the throat or lungs by coughing or hawking and spitting
2 : SPIT expectorate intransitive senses
1 : to discharge matter from the throat or lungs by coughing or hawking and spitting
2 : SPIT
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

expectorate ex·pec·to·rate (ĭk-spěk'tə-rāt')
v. ex·pec·to·rat·ed, ex·pec·to·rat·ing, ex·pec·to·rates

  1. To eject saliva, mucus, or other body fluid from the mouth; spit.

  2. To clear out the chest and lungs by coughing up and spitting out matter.

ex·pec'to·ra'tion n.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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