assimilate
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Borrowed from Late Latin assimilātus, variant of Latin assimulātus (“made similar, imitated”), perfect passive participle of assimulō, from ad + simulō (“imitate, copy”), from similis (“like, similar”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sem- (“together, one”). Doublet of assemble.
Pronunciation
[edit]Verb
[edit]assimilate (third-person singular simple present assimilates, present participle assimilating, simple past and past participle assimilated)
- (transitive) To incorporate nutrients into the body, especially after digestion.
- Food is assimilated and converted into organic tissue.
- a. 1728 (date written), Isaac Newton, “[The Third Book of Opticks.] ”, in Opticks: Or, A Treatise of the Reflections, Refractions, Inflections and Colours of Light. […], 4th edition, London: […] William Innys […], published 1730, →OCLC, page 362:
- Hence also it may be, that the Parts of Animals and Vegetables preserve their several Forms, and assimilate their Nourishment; [...]
- 1822, John Barclay, chapter I, in An Inquiry Into the Opinions, Ancient and Modern, Concerning Life and Organization[1], Edinburgh, London: Bell & Bradfute; Waugh & Innes; G. & W. B. Whittaker, section I, page 1:
- In the living state, the body is observed to receive aliment; to assimilate a part; to evacuate what is redundant or useless; [...]
- (transitive) To incorporate or absorb (knowledge) into the mind.
- The teacher paused in her lecture to allow the students to assimilate what she had said.
- 1850, Charles Merivale, History of the Romans Under the Empire:
- His mind had no power to assimilate the lessons.
- 1981 December 1, Duncan Mitchel, “The God That Dare Not Speak Its Name”, in Gay Community News, volume 12, number 20, page 8:
- A good modern work on this subject is needed, preferably by someone who understands both the Bible and human sexuality, but Sex and the Bible isn't it. I'm not sure what went wrong. Larue has read the literature, but seems not to have assimilated it.
- (transitive) To absorb (a person or people) into a community or culture.
- The aliens in the science-fiction film wanted to assimilate human beings into their own race.
- (transitive, rare, used with "to" or "with") To liken, compare to something similar.
- 2005 October 12, J. R. Spencer, transl., Penal Code [of France][2], Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, retrieved 2020-01-19, page 25:
- The use of an animal to kill, wound or threaten is assimilated to the use of a weapon.
- (transitive) To bring to a likeness or to conformity; to cause a resemblance between.
- March 13, 1866, John Bright, The reform bill on the motion for leave to bring in the bill
- to assimilate our law in respect to the law of Scotland
- 1782–1785, William Cowper, “(please specify the page)”, in The Task, a Poem, […], London: […] J[oseph] Johnson; […], →OCLC:
- Fast falls a fleecy shower; the downy flakes / Assimilate all objects.
- 1676, Matthew Hale, “Meditations upon the Lord’s Prayer”, in Contemplations Moral and Divine. The Second Part, London: […] William Shrewsbury […], and Tho[mas] Leigh and D[aniel] Midwinter, […], published 1699, →OCLC, page 478:
- [I]t [the seed of life] doth, by degrees, aſſimilate the whole inward Man to this living Principle, and conforms the Life unto it.
- March 13, 1866, John Bright, The reform bill on the motion for leave to bring in the bill
- (intransitive) To become similar.
- (intransitive) To be incorporated or absorbed into something.
Synonyms
[edit]- (incorporate or absorb knowledge into the mind): process
- (absorb a group of people into a community): integrate
Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]to incorporate nutrients into the body after digestion
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to incorporate or absorb knowledge into the mind
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to absorb a group of people into a community
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to compare something to another similar one
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to bring to a likeness or to conformity; to cause a resemblance between
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to become similar
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to be incorporated or absorbed into something
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
Noun
[edit]assimilate
- Something that is or has been assimilated.
- 2005, Ep Heuvelink, Tomatoes, →ISBN, page 65:
- At low light intensity, high temperature delays the first flower initiation, as assimilate supply is limiting and high temperature reduces the amount of assimilate available in the plant[.]
- 2012, A. Läuchli, R.L. Bieleski, Inorganic Plant Nutrition, →ISBN, page 83:
- the growing root and ectomycorrhizas both act as assimilate sinks
Translations
[edit]Translations
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Interlingua
[edit]Participle
[edit]assimilate
Italian
[edit]Verb
[edit]assimilate
- inflection of assimilare:
Latin
[edit]Verb
[edit]assimilāte
Categories:
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *sem-
- English terms borrowed from Late Latin
- English terms derived from Late Latin
- English terms derived from Latin
- English doublets
- English 4-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- English lemmas
- English verbs
- English transitive verbs
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations
- English terms with rare senses
- English intransitive verbs
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English nouns with unknown or uncertain plurals
- Interlingua non-lemma forms
- Interlingua participles
- Italian non-lemma forms
- Italian verb forms
- Latin non-lemma forms
- Latin verb forms