irrigate definition | Dictionary.com

ir⋅ri⋅gate

[ir-i-geyt]

–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

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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Language Translation for : irrigate

Spanish:

regar, irrigar,

German:

bewässern,

Japanese:

かんがいする

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ir·ri·gate   (ĭr'ĭ-gāt') Pronunciation Key
v.   ir·ri·gat·ed, ir·ri·gat·ing, ir·ri·gates

v.   tr.

To supply (dry land) with water by means of ditches, pipes, or streams; water artificially.
To wash out (a body cavity or wound) with water or a medicated fluid.
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 © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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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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irrigate
verb
1.	supply with water, as with channels or ditches or streams; "Water the fields" [syn: water]
2.	supply with a constant flow or sprinkling of some liquid, for the purpose of cooling, cleansing, or disinfecting; "irrigate the wound"

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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Irrigate

Ir"ri*gate\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Irrigated; p. pr. & vb. n. Irrigating.] [L. irrigatus, p. p. of irrigare to irrigate: ir- in + rigare to water; prob. akin to E. rain. See Rain.]

1. To water; to wet; to moisten with running or dropping water; to bedew.

2. (Agric.) To water, as land, by causing a stream to flow upon, over, or through it, as in artificial channels.