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pullulate

[puhl-yuh-leyt]
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verb (used without object), pul·lu·lat·ed, pul·lu·lat·ing.
  1. to send forth sprouts, buds, etc.; germinate; sprout.
  2. to breed, produce, or create rapidly.
  3. to increase rapidly; multiply.
  4. to exist abundantly; swarm; teem.
  5. to be produced as offspring.
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Origin of pullulate

1610–20; < Latin pullulātus (past participle of pullulāre to sprout), derivative of pullulus a sprout, young animal, diminutive of pullus; see pullet
Related formspul·lu·la·tion, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

prosperbrimcrowdburstflowswellaboundpourshowerswarmproducejamoverrunbearbristlerainoverflowcrawlgrowbustle

Examples from the Web for pullulate

Historical Examples

  • The parties too, that already began to pullulate, were not better satisfied with the issue of the Champ de Mai.

    Memoirs of the Private Life, Return, and Reign of Napoleon in 1815, Vol. II

    Fleury de Chaboulon.

British Dictionary definitions for pullulate

pullulate

verb (intr)
  1. (of animals, etc) to breed rapidly or abundantly; teem; swarm
  2. (of plants or plant parts) to sprout, bud, or germinate
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Derived Formspullulation, noun

Word Origin

C17: from Latin pullulāre to sprout, from pullulus a baby animal, from pullus young animal
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 pullulate

v.

1610s, from Latin pullulatus, past participle of pullulare "put forth, grow, sprout, shoot up, come forth," from pullulus, diminutive of pullus "young animal" (see foal (n.)). Related: Pullulated; pullulating.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper