divaricate

American  

[dahy-var-i-keyt, dih-, dahy-var-uh-kit, -keyt, dih-] / daɪˈvær ɪˌkeɪt, dɪ-, daɪˈvær ə kɪt, -ˌkeɪt, dɪ- /

verb (used without object)

divaricated, divaricating

1. to spread apart; branch; diverge.

2. Botany, Zoology. to branch at a wide angle.

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adjective

1. spread apart; widely divergent.

2. Botany, Zoology. branching at a wide angle.

divaricate British  

verb

1. (intr) (esp of branches) to diverge at a wide angle

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adjective

1. branching widely; forked

Other Word Forms

• divaricately adverb
• divaricatingly adverb
• divarication noun
• divaricator noun

Etymology

Origin of divaricate

1615–25; < Latin dīvāricātus (past participle of dīvāricāre ), equivalent to dī di- ² + vāric- (base of vāricāre to straddle; see prevaricate) + -ātus -ate ¹

Example Sentences

Divergent: spreading out from a common base; in Coleoptera, tarsal claws are divergent when they spread out only a little; divaricate when they separate widely.

From Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology by Smith, John. B.

Colour greyish brown; polypidom 4 to five inches high, much branched, branches irregular, divaricate, rising in great numbers almost immediately from the mass of radical fibres.

From Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Rattlesnake, Commanded By the Late Captain Owen Stanley, R.N., F.R.S. Etc. During the Years 1846-1850. Including Discoveries and Surveys in New Guinea, the Louisiade Archipelago, Etc. to Which Is Added the Account of Mr. E.B. Kennedy's Expedition for the Exploration of the Cape York Peninsula. By John Macgillivray, F.R.G.S. Naturalist to the Expedition. — Volume 1 by MacGillivray, John

Stems or branches pinnate: pinnae or branches alternate, straight, divaricate.

From Narrative of the Voyage of H.M.S. Rattlesnake, Commanded By the Late Captain Owen Stanley, R.N., F.R.S. Etc. During the Years 1846-1850. Including Discoveries and Surveys in New Guinea, the Louisiade Archipelago, Etc. to Which Is Added the Account of Mr. E.B. Kennedy's Expedition for the Exploration of the Cape York Peninsula. By John Macgillivray, F.R.G.S. Naturalist to the Expedition. — Volume 1 by MacGillivray, John

We divaricate so much, as Dr Johnson said.

From James Boswell Famous Scots Series by Leask, W. Keith (William Keith)

While they run on together, the closest translation may be considered as the best; but when they divaricate, each must take its natural course.

From Lives of the Poets, Volume 1 by Johnson, Samuel

Related Words

• alter
• differ
• diverge
• diversify
• divide
• fluctuate
• modify
• range