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Origin and history of emaciate

emaciate(v.)

1620s "cause to lose flesh" (implied in emaciating), from Latin emaciatus, past participle of emaciare "make lean, cause to waste away," from assimilated form of ex "out" (see ex-) + macies "leanness," from macer "thin" (from PIE root *mak- "long, thin"). Intransitive meaning "become lean, waste away" is from 1640s. Related: Emaciated.

also from 1620s

Entries linking to emaciate

emaciated(adj.)

"reduced to leanness," 1660s, past-participle adjective from emaciate.

emaciation(n.)

"act of making lean or thin in flesh; state of becoming thin by gradual wasting of flesh, state of being reduced to leanness," 1660s, from Latin *emaciationem (nominative *emaciatio), noun of state from past-participle stem of emaciare "make lean, waste away," from assimilated form of ex "out" (see ex-) + macies "leanness," from macer "thin" (from PIE root *mak- "long, thin"). Or perhaps the noun is a native formation from emaciate (v.).

  • meager
  • ex-
  • *mak-
  • See All Related Words (5)
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More to explore

meager
late 14c., megre (late 12c. as a surname), "lean, thin, emaciated" (of persons or animals), from Old French megre, maigre "thin" (12c.), from Latin macrum (nominative macer) "lean, thin" (source of Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian magro), from PIE root *mak- "long, thin." Compare
macerate
late 15c., "soften and separate by steeping in a fluid," a back-formation from maceration, or else from Latin maceratus, past participle of macerare "to make soft or tender; soften by steeping or soaking;" in transferred sense "to weaken" in body or mind, "to waste away, enervate
sweat
Middle English sweten, from Old English swætan "perspire, excrete moisture from the skin," also "toil, labor, work hard," from Proto-Germanic *swaitjan "to sweat," from the source of sweat (n.). Compare Frisian swette, Dutch zweeten, Danish svede, German schwitzen. The meaning "b
runt
c. 1500, "old or decayed tree stump" (Douglas), a provincial word of unknown origin. The meaning was extended to "small ox or cow," especially of the breeds characteristic of Wales and the Scottish Highlands (1540s, if indeed this is the same word), and by 1610s generally to unde
turn
late Old English turnian "to rotate, revolve," in part also from Old French torner "to turn away or around; draw aside, cause to turn; change, transform; turn on a lathe" (Modern French tourner), both from Latin tornare "to polish, round off, fashion, turn on a lathe," from tornu
nadir
late 14c., in astronomy, "imaginary point of the celestial sphere vertically opposite to the zenith of the sun; the inferior pole of the horizon," from Medieval Latin nadir, from Arabic nazir "opposite to," in nazir as-samt, literally "opposite direction," from nazir "opposite" +
drain
Middle English dreinen, from Old English dreahnian "to draw off gradually, as a liquid; remove by degrees; strain out," from Proto-Germanic *dreug-, source of drought, dry, giving the English word originally a sense of "to make dry." Figurative meaning of "exhaust" is attested fr
providence
late 14c., "foresight, prudent anticipation, timely care or preparation," from Old French providence "divine providence, foresight" (12c.) and directly from Latin providentia "foresight, precaution, foreknowledge," abstract noun from present-participle stem of providere "look ahe
indignation
c. 1200, from Old French indignacion "fury, rage; disrespect," or directly from Latin indignationem (nominative indignatio) "indignation, displeasure; a provocation, cause for indignation," noun of action from past participle stem of indignari "regard as unworthy, be angry or dis
dodge
1560s, "go this way and that in speech or action," a sense now obsolete; from 1680s as "start suddenly aside, shift suddenly," as to evade a blow;" 1704 as "to move to and fro, shift about;" origin and sense evolution obscure. Perhaps it is from or akin to Scottish and Northern E

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Dictionary entries near emaciate
  • elytra
  • elytro-
  • em
  • em-
  • *em-
  • emaciate
  • emaciated
  • emaciation
  • emaculate
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