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flocculate

[flok-yuh-leyt]
verb (used with object), floc·cu·lat·ed, floc·cu·lat·ing.
  1. to form into flocculent masses.
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verb (used without object), floc·cu·lat·ed, floc·cu·lat·ing.
  1. to form flocculent masses, as a cloud or a chemical precipitate; form aggregated or compound masses of particles.
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Origin of flocculate

First recorded in 1820–30; floccul(us) + -ate1
Related formsfloc·cu·la·ble [flok-yuh-luh-buh l] /ˈflɒk yə lə bəl/, adjectivefloc·cu·la·tion, nounfloc·cu·la·tor, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for flocculate

flocculate

verb
  1. to form or be formed into an aggregated flocculent mass
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Derived Formsflocculation, noun
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 flocculate

v.

1877, from flocculus (1799, from Modern Latin diminutive of Latin floccus "flock of wool") + -ate. Related: Flocculated; flocculating.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper