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irrigate

 - 5 dictionary results

ir⋅ri⋅gate

  [ir-i-geyt]
Use irrigate in a Sentence
–verb (used with object), -gat⋅ed, -gat⋅ing.
1. to supply (land) with water by artificial means, as by diverting streams, flooding, or spraying.
2. Medicine/Medical. to supply or wash (an orifice, wound, etc.) with a spray or a flow of some liquid.
3. to moisten; wet.
Origin:
1605–15; < L irrigātus, ptp. of irrigāre to wet, flood, nourish with water, equiv. to ir- ir- 1 + rigā- (s. of rigāre to provide with water, soak) + -tus ptp. suffix

Related forms:
ir⋅ri⋅ga⋅tor, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To irrigate
ir·ri·gate   (ĭr'ĭ-gāt')   
v.   ir·ri·gat·ed, ir·ri·gat·ing, ir·ri·gates

v.   tr.

  1. To supply (dry land) with water by means of ditches, pipes, or streams; water artificially.

  2. To wash out (a body cavity or wound) with water or a medicated fluid.

  3. To make fertile or vital as if by watering.

v.   intr.
To supply land with water artificially.

[Latin irrigāre, irrigāt- : in-, in; see in-2 + rigāre, to water.]
ir'ri·ga'tion n., ir'ri·ga'tion·al adj., ir'ri·ga'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

irrigate 
1623, from L. irrigatus, pp. of irrigare "lead water to, refresh," from in- "in" + rigare "to water, to moisten," of uncertain origin, perhaps cognate with O.E. regn "rain."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: ir·ri·gate
Pronunciation: 'ir-&-"gAt
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: -gat·ed; -gat·ing
: to flush (a body part) with a stream of liquid (as in removing a foreign body or medicating) <irrigate a wound> —ir·ri·ga·tion /"ir-&-'gA-sh&n/ noun
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

irrigate ir·ri·gate (ĭr'ĭ-gāt')
v. ir·ri·gat·ed, ir·ri·gat·ing, ir·ri·gates
To wash out a cavity or wound with a fluid.

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