marinate
/ˈmæɹɪneɪt/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.59 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To allow a sauce or flavoring mixture to absorb into something; to steep or soak something in a marinade to flavor or prepare it for cooking.
Transitive verb
adj
Example Sentences
- "You'll get a better flavour from the chicken if you marinate it first."
- "After the chicken has marinated for two hours, discard the remaining marinade."
- "oblucy: "vinegar... to marinate the scalp... oil... to lubricate the scalp...""
- "Let your scalp marinate while you shave."
- "Wrap a dry towel around the wet towel, and let your child's hair marinate for an hour."
- "a rejuvenating oil you use to saturate your hair and let it marinate from 15 minutes to 2 hours"
Etymology
First attested in 1645; adapted from either French mariner or the earlier attested Italian marinare (“to pickle, marinate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from Late Latin marina (“brine, salt water”), short for aqua marina (“sea water”), from Latin marinus (“marine, of the sea”), from Latin mare (“the sea”) from Proto-Indo-European *móri (“the sea”).
Origin
- Source language: Proto-Indo-European
- First known use: First attested in 1645
Word Breakdown
Usage
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Food.