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vegetate

 - 3 dictionary results

veg⋅e⋅tate

  [vej-i-teyt]
Use vegetate in a Sentence
–verb (used without object), -tat⋅ed, -tat⋅ing.
1. to grow in, or as in, the manner of a plant.
2. to be passive or unthinking; to do nothing: to lie on the beach and vegetate.
3. Pathology. to grow, or increase by growth, as an excrescence.
Origin:
1595–1605; < L vegetātus (ptp. of vegetāre to quicken, enliven), equiv. to veget(us) lively (orig. ptp. of vegēre to give vigor) + -ātus -ate 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To vegetate
veg·e·tate   (věj'ĭ-tāt')   
intr.v.   veg·e·tat·ed, veg·e·tat·ing, veg·e·tates

  1. To grow or sprout as a plant does.

  2. Pathology To grow in size or spread abnormally.

  3. To exist in a state of physical or mental inactivity or insensibility.

  4. Informal To engage in relaxing or passive activities, such as watching television.


[Latin vegetāre, vegetāt-, to enliven; see vegetable.]
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

vegetate  (v.)
1605, "to grow as plants do," perhaps a back-formation from vegetation, or from L. vegetatus, pp. of vegetare "to enliven, to animate" (see vegetable). Sense of "to lead a dull, empty, or stagnant life" is from 1740.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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