foliate
Americanadjective
verb (used without object)
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to put forth leaves.
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to split into thin leaflike layers or laminae.
verb (used with object)
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to shape like a leaf or leaves.
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to decorate with foils or foliage.
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to form into thin sheets.
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to spread over with a thin metallic backing.
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Printing. to number the folios or leaves, as distinguished from pages, of (a manuscript or book).
adjective
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relating to, possessing, or resembling leaves
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in combination
trifoliate
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(of certain metamorphic rocks, esp schists) having the constituent minerals arranged in thin leaflike layers
verb
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(tr) to ornament with foliage or with leaf forms such as foils
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to hammer or cut (metal) into thin plates or foil
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(tr) to coat or back (glass, etc) with metal foil
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(tr) to number the leaves of (a book, manuscript, etc) Compare paginate
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(intr) (of plants) to grow leaves
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of foliate
First recorded in 1620–30, foliate is from the Latin word foliātus leafy. See folium, -ate 1
Vocabulary lists containing foliate
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The design featured a foliate design on an "ornate aubergine coloured" background, the catalogue said.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2023
They are normally described by art historians as foliate heads, and they are, essentially, a decorative trope.
From Slate ● Apr. 8, 2023
Lehman followed a formula in these portraits and foliate still lifes, but his strange deviations and distortions of space and the body keep the images fresh.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 28, 2016
Mr. Mabey finds a few curling floral and foliate motifs but is content to leave these prehistoric symbols as mystery.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 15, 2016
On the lateral border of the tongue, just in front of the anterior palatine arch, are several vertical folds of mucous membrane—the folia linguæ, or foliate papillæ.
From Manual of Surgery Volume Second: Extremities—Head—Neck. Sixth Edition. by Miles, Alexander
These crystalline changes create identifying textures, which is shown in the figure below comparing the phaneritic texture of igneous granite with the foliated texture of metamorphic gneiss.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2017
Boxwood: English boxwood is bright green and densely foliated with rounded leaves.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 9, 2016
Metamorphic rocks that form under either low-pressure conditions or just confining pressure do not become foliated.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015
The rock that forms in this way is known as greenstone if it isn’t foliated, or greenschist if it is.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015
In the case of intense contact metamorphism, the altered rock assumes a new form, and may exhibit a crystalline and foliated or schistose structure.
From North America by Russell, Israel C. (Cook)
The ash was foliating on the 29th of April, the oak on the 28th.
From The Delectable Duchy by Quiller-Couch, Arthur Thomas, Sir
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
