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defecate

[def-i-keyt]
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verb (used without object), def·e·cat·ed, def·e·cat·ing.
  1. to void excrement from the bowels through the anus; have a bowel movement.
  2. to become clear of dregs, impurities, etc.
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verb (used with object), def·e·cat·ed, def·e·cat·ing.
  1. to clear of dregs, impurities, etc.; purify; refine.
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Origin of defecate

1565–75; < Latin dēfaecātus (past participle of dēfaecāre to cleanse, refine), equivalent to dē- de- + faec- (stem of faex dregs, sediment) + -ātus -ate1
Related formsdef·e·ca·tion, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for defecate

defecate

defaecate

verb
  1. (intr) to discharge waste from the body through the anus
  2. (tr) to clarify or remove impurities from (a solution, esp of sugar)
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Derived Formsdefecation or defaecation, noundefecator or defaecator, noun

Word Origin

C16: from Latin dēfaecāre to cleanse from dregs, from de- + faex sediment, dregs
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for defecate

v.

1570s, "to purify," from Latin defaecatus, past participle of defaecare "cleanse from dregs, purify," from the phrase de faece "from dregs" (plural faeces; see feces). Excretory sense first recorded 1830 (defecation), American English, from French. Related: Defecated; defecating.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
defecate in Medicine

defecate

(dĕf′ĭ-kāt′)
v.
  1. To void feces from the bowels.
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Related formsdef′e•ca′tion n.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.