masticate
/ˈmæstɪkeɪt/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.37 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "The cow stood, quietly masticating its cud."
- "The fat boy rose, opened his eyes, swallowed the huge piece of pie he had been in the act of masticating when he last fell asleep, and slowly obeyed his master’s orders."
- ""By tasting it, to be sure," said I, masticating a morsel that Kory-Kory had just put in my mouth."
- "He resumed his meal. "I had no idea of it," he said, and masticated."
- "The vegetables were not to be cooked but merely grated fine, if I could not masticate them."
- "The friends watch the two make their way between other habitués masticating, drinking, crouched in a scrum of conversation[…]"
Etymology
From Latin masticātus, perfect passive participle of masticō (“to chew”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Alternatively, back-formation from mastication, either ultimately from Ancient Greek μαστιχάω (mastikháō, “to grind the teeth”). Compare French mastiquer.
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: masticātus, μαστιχάω