was wotd|2006|May|4
English

Etymology
From the past participle stem of later Latin masticare �chew�, from Greek μα��ι�αν �grind the teeth�.

Pronunciation
IPA|/'mæstɪkeɪt/
audio|en-us-masticate.ogg|Audio (US)

Verb
en-verb|masticat|ing

1. transitive To chew (food).

#: The cow stood, quietly masticating its cud.

1. transitive To grind or knead something into a pulp.

1892 � w:Herman Melville|Herman Melville, s:Typee|Typee: A Romance of the South Seas, ch. 12
:'By tasting it, to be sure,' said I, masticating a morsel that Kory-Kory had just put in my mouth.
1896 � w:H. G. Wells|H. G. Wells, s:The Island of Dr. Moreau|The Island of Dr. Moreau, ch. 8
:He resumed his meal. "I had no idea of it," he said, and masticated.
1927-1929� w:Mahatma_Gandhi|Mahatma Gandhi, s:An Autobiography or The Story of my Experiments with Truth|An Autobiography or The Story of my Experiments with Truth, translated 1940 by w:Mahadev Desai|Mahadev Desai
:The vegetables were not to be cooked but merely grated fine, if I could not masticate them.
2001 - w:Nadine Gordimer|Nadine Gordimer, The Pickup
:The friends watch the two make their way between other habitué's masticating, drinking, crouched in a scrum of conversation...''

Translations
trans-top|to chew
Dutch: kauwen
French: mastiquer
Greek: μα��
Icelandic: tyggja
trans-mid
Italian: masticare
Russian: жева��
Spanish: masticar
trans-bottom

trans-top|to knead
trans-mid
Russian: ме�и��
trans-bottom

See also
mastic
masticable
mastication
masticator
masticatory

Category:English transitive verbs
Category:Greek derivations
Category:Latin derivations

Italian

Verb form
masticate

1. second person plural present tense of masticare
2. second person plural imperative of masticare

Category:Italian verb forms

io:masticate
te:masticate
vi:masticate
zh:masticate

• 2007-09-30 09:24 - UllmannBot - iwiki +te

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