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inoculate

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in⋅oc⋅u⋅late

  [i-nok-yuh-leyt] verb, -lat⋅ed, -lat⋅ing.
Use inoculate in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to implant (a disease agent or antigen) in a person, animal, or plant to produce a disease for study or to stimulate disease resistance.
2. to affect or treat (a person, animal, or plant) in this manner.
3. to introduce (microorganisms) into surroundings suited to their growth, as a culture medium.
4. to imbue (a person), as with ideas.
5. Metallurgy. to treat (molten metal) chemically to strengthen the microstructure.
–verb (used without object)
6. to perform inoculation.
Origin:
1400–50; late ME < L inoculātus ptp. of inoculāre to graft by budding, implant, equiv. to in- in- 2 + -oculā- (s. of -oculāre to graft, deriv. of oculus eye, bud) + -tus ptp. suffix

Related forms:
in⋅oc⋅u⋅la⋅tive  [i-nok-yuh-ley-tiv, -yuh-luh-] , adjective
in⋅oc⋅u⋅la⋅tor, noun

Synonyms:
4. indoctrinate, infuse.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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in·oc·u·late   (ĭ-nŏk'yə-lāt')   
tr.v.   in·oc·u·lat·ed, in·oc·u·lat·ing, in·oc·u·lates

  1. To introduce a serum, vaccine, or antigenic substance into (the body of a person or animal), especially to produce or boost immunity to a specific disease.

  2. To communicate a disease to (a living organism) by transferring its causative agent into the organism.

  3. To implant microorganisms or infectious material into (a culture medium).

  4. To safeguard as if by inoculation; protect.

  5. To introduce an idea or attitude into the mind of.


[Middle English inoculaten, to graft a scion, from Latin inoculāre, inoculāt- : in-, in; see in-2 + oculus, eye, bud; see okw- in Indo-European roots.]
in·oc'u·la'tive adj., in·oc'u·la'tor 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

inoculate 
c.1420, "implant a bud into a plant," from L. inoculatus, pp. of inoculare "graft in, implant," from in- "in" + oculus "bud," originally "eye." Meaning of "implant germs of a disease to produce immunity" first recorded (in inoculation) 1714, originally in ref. to smallpox. After 1799, often used in sense of "to vaccine inoculate."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: in·oc·u·late
Pronunciation: in-'äk-y&-"lAt
Function: verb
Inflected Forms: -lat·ed; -lat·ing
transitive senses
1 : to communicate a disease to (an organism) by inserting its causative agent into the body <12 mice inoculated with anthrax>
2 a : to introduce microorganisms or viruses onto or into (an organism, substrate, or culture medium) <inoculated a rat with bacteria> b : to introduce (as amicroorganism or antiserum) into an organism or onto a culture medium <inoculate a pure culture of bacteria into a healthy host>
3 : to introduce immunologicallyactive material (as an antibody or antigen) into especially in order to treat or prevent a disease <inoculate children against diphtheria> inoculate intransitive senses
: to introduce microorganisms, vaccines, or sera by inoculation
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

inoculate in·oc·u·late (ĭ-nŏk'yə-lāt')
v. in·oc·u·lat·ed, in·oc·u·lat·ing, in·oc·u·lates

  1. To introduce a serum, a vaccine, or an antigenic substance into the body of a person or an animal, especially as a means to produce or boost immunity to a specific disease.

  2. To implant microorganisms or infectious material into or on a culture medium.

  3. To communicate a disease to a living organism by transferring its causative agent into the organism.

in·oc'u·la'tive adj.
in·oc'u·la'tor 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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Science Dictionary
inoculation   (ĭ-nŏk'yə-lā'shən)  Pronunciation Key 

  1. The introduction of a serum, a vaccine, or an antigenic substance into the body of a person or an animal, especially as a means to produce or boost immunity to a specific disease.

  2. The introduction of a microorganism or an agent of disease into an host organism or a growth medium.


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