digest

[ verb dih-jest, dahy-; noun dahy-jest ]

/ verb dɪˈdʒɛst, daɪ-; noun ˈdaɪ dʒɛst /

verb (used with object)

to convert (food) in the alimentary canal into absorbable form for assimilation into the system.

to promote the digestion of (food).

to obtain information, ideas, or principles from; assimilate mentally: to digest a pamphlet on nuclear waste.

to arrange methodically in the mind; think over: to digest a plan.

to bear with patience; endure.

to arrange in convenient or methodical order; reduce to a system; classify.

to condense, abridge, or summarize.

Chemistry. to soften or disintegrate (a substance) by means of moisture, heat, chemical action, or the like.

verb (used without object)

to digest food.

to undergo digestion, as food.

noun

a collection or compendium, usually of literary, historical, legal, or scientific matter, especially when classified or condensed.

Law.

a systematic abstract of some body of law.
the Digest, a collection in fifty books of excerpts, especially from the writings of the Classical Roman jurists, compiled by order of Justinian in the 6th century a.d.; the Pandects.

Biochemistry. the product of the action of an enzyme on food or other organic material.

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Origin of digest

1350–1400; (v.) Middle English digesten < Latin dīgestus separated, dissolved (past participle of dīgerere), equivalent to dī- di-² + ges- carry, bear (base of gerere) + -tus past participle suffix; (noun) Middle English: collection of laws < Late Latin dīgesta (plural), Latin: collection of writings, neuter plural of dīgestus, as above

SYNONYMS FOR digest

4 understand; study, ponder.

6 systematize, codify.

11 epitome, abridgment. See summary.

OTHER WORDS FROM digest

di·gest·ed·ly, adverbdi·gest·ed·ness, nounhalf-di·gest·ed, adjectivenon·di·gest·ing, adjective

o·ver·di·gest, verbre·di·gest, verb (used with object)sem·i·di·gest·ed, adjectiveun·di·gest·ed, adjectiveun·di·gest·ing, adjectivewell-di·gest·ed, adjective

Words nearby digest

digby chicken, digenea, digenesis, digenetic, digerati, digest, digestant, digester, digestible, digestif, digestion

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for half-digested

Not his own: just half-digested ideas, and he probably finds it pretty difficult to listen to them at all.
Christopher Hibbault, Roadmaker|Marguerite Bryant
Mammoths have been discovered frozen in the ice with half-digested tropical plants in their stomach.
The Time Traders|Andre Norton
Their half-digested remains have sometimes suggested the announcement of strange specific forms of cholera germs.
A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I|Various
A serious examination of this bundle of half-digested opinions was in itself absurd.
Alexander Pope|Leslie Stephen

All half-digested food should be removed from snakes and animals.
Shifts and Expedients of Camp Life, Travel & Exploration|W. B. Lord

British Dictionary definitions for half-digested (1 of 3)

half-digested

adjective

(of food, drink, etc) partially digested

(of ideas, beliefs, etc) not entirely assimilated mentallyhalf-digested tenets of the latest intellectual fads

British Dictionary definitions for half-digested (2 of 3)

digest

verb (dɪˈdʒɛst, daɪ-)

to subject (food) to a process of digestion

(tr) to assimilate mentally

chem to soften or disintegrate or be softened or disintegrated by the action of heat, moisture, or chemicals; decompose

(tr) to arrange in a methodical or systematic order; classify

(tr) to reduce to a summary

(tr) archaic to tolerate

noun (ˈdaɪdʒɛst)

a comprehensive and systematic compilation of information or material, often condensed

a magazine, periodical, etc, that summarizes news of current events

a compilation of rules of law based on decided cases

Word Origin for digest

C14: from Late Latin dīgesta writings grouped under various heads, from Latin dīgerere to divide, from di- apart + gerere to bear

British Dictionary definitions for half-digested (3 of 3)

Digest

/ (ˈdaɪdʒɛst) /

noun

Roman law an arrangement of excerpts from the writings and opinions of eminent lawyers, contained in 50 books compiled by order of Justinian in the sixth century ad

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

Medical definitions for half-digested

digest

[ dī-jĕst′, dĭ- ]

v.

To convert food into simpler chemical compounds that can be absorbed and assimilated by the body, as by chemical and muscular action in the alimentary canal.

To soften or disintegrate by means of chemical action, heat, or moisture.

Other words from digest

di•gest′i•bil′i•ty n.di•gest′i•ble adj.