interdigitate

English

Etymology

From inter- +‎ digitate.

Verb

interdigitate (third-person singular simple present interdigitates, present participle interdigitating, simple past and past participle interdigitated)

1. (transitive) To fold or lock together, as when the fingers of one hand are laced between those of the other.
2. (intransitive) To become folded or locked together, like the fingers of a folded hand.
   • 1998, J. Arrillaga, High Voltage Direct Current Transmission, page 6:

     Figure 1.4 shows a modern thyristor encapsulated in a presspack housing and Figure 1.5 illustrates a typical interdigitated gate geometry in a high-power thyristor; the black areas indicate silicon ( Si0₂ ) and the white areas the Al metallisation.

3. (transitive, figuratively) To intermingle; to present alternately items from one group and then another.
   • 1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, →ISBN, page viii:

     Thirdly, I continue to attempt to interdigitate the taxa in our flora with taxa of the remainder of the world.

Derived terms

• interdigitation

Translations

to become folded or locked together, like the fingers of a folded hand

• Hungarian: (fésűsen) egymásba fonódik/kapcsolódik, összefonódik (hu)

See also

• collate
• finger joint

Spanish

Verb

interdigitate

1. second-person singular voseo imperative of interdigitar combined with te