perforate
/pˈɝfɚˌeɪt/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.02 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
IPA⁽ᵏᵉʸ⁾: /ˈpɜː.fə.ɹeɪt/
verb
IPA⁽ᵏᵉʸ⁾: /ˈpɝ.fɚ.eɪt/
adj
IPA⁽ᵏᵉʸ⁾: /ˈpɜː.fə.ɹət/
adj
IPA⁽ᵏᵉʸ⁾: /ˈpɝ.fɚ.ət/
Example Sentences
- "to perforate a sheet of postage stamps"
- "An Earthen Pot perforate at the Bottom to let in the Plant."
- "Suche abuses can not be longe hydde frome princis, that haue their eares perforate (as is the prouerbe)."
- "A species of remarkable appearance with mature leaf laminae often so profoundly perforate as to resemble a fragile net of tissue."
Etymology
The adjective is first attested in 1425, in Middle English, the verb in 1538; from Middle English perforat(e) (“perforated, pierced”), borrowed from Latin perforātus, the perfect passive participle of perforō (“to bore or pierce through, to perforate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from per- (“through, thorough”) + forō (“to bore, pierce”). Participial usage of the adjective up until Early Modern English.
Origin
- Source language: Middle English
- First known use: first attested in 1425
Word Breakdown
- Root: perforat, perforātus