translate

American  

[trans-leyt, tranz-, trans-leyt, tranz-] / trænsˈleɪt, trænz-, ˈtræns leɪt, ˈtrænz- /

verb (used with object)

translated, translating

1. to turn from one language into another or from a foreign language into one's own.

   to translate Spanish.

2. to change the form, condition, nature, etc., of; transform; convert.

   to translate wishes into deeds.

3. to explain in terms that can be more easily understood; interpret.

4. to bear, carry, or move from one place, position, etc., to another; transfer.

5. Mechanics. to cause (a body) to move without rotation or angular displacement; subject to translation.

6. Computers. to convert (a program, data, code, etc.) from one form to another.

   to translate a FORTRAN program into assembly language.

7. Telegraphy. to retransmit or forward (a message), as by a relay.

8. Ecclesiastical.

   1. to move (a bishop) from one see to another.

   2. to move (a see) from one place to another.

   3. to move (relics) from one place to another.

9. to convey or remove to heaven without natural death.

10. Mathematics. to perform a translation on (a set, function, etc.).

11. to express the value of (a currency) in a foreign currency by applying the exchange rate.

12. to exalt in spiritual or emotional ecstasy; enrapture.

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verb (used without object)

translated, translating

1. to provide or make a translation; act as translator.

2. to admit of translation.

   The Greek expression does not translate easily into English.

translate British  

/ trænsˈleɪt, trænz- /

verb

1. to express or be capable of being expressed in another language or dialect

   he translated Shakespeare into Afrikaans

   his books translate well

2. (intr) to act as translator

3. (tr) to express or explain in simple or less technical language

4. (tr) to interpret or infer the significance of (gestures, symbols, etc)

5. (tr) to transform or convert

   to translate hope into reality

6. (tr; usually passive) biochem to transform the molecular structure of (messenger RNA) into a polypeptide chain by means of the information stored in the genetic code See also transcribe

7. to move or carry from one place or position to another

8. (tr)

   1. to transfer (a cleric) from one ecclesiastical office to another

   2. to transfer (a see) from one place to another

9. (tr) RC Church to transfer (the body or the relics of a saint) from one resting place to another

10. (tr) theol to transfer (a person) from one place or plane of existence to another, as from earth to heaven

11. maths physics to move (a figure or body) laterally, without rotation, dilation, or angular displacement

12. (intr) (of an aircraft, missile, etc) to fly or move from one position to another

13. archaic (tr) to bring to a state of spiritual or emotional ecstasy

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Other Word Forms

• half-translated adjective
• intertranslatable adjective
• pretranslate verb (used with object)
• retranslate verb (used with object)
• translatability noun
• translatable adjective
• translatableness noun
• untranslatability noun
• untranslatable adjective
• untranslated adjective
• well-translated adjective

Etymology

Origin of translate

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English translaten, from Latin trānslātus “borne across,” past participle of trānsferre “to bear across,” from trāns- trans- + ferre “to bear, bring, carry” ( bear ¹ ); for the suppletive element -lātus, earlier tlātus (unrecorded), thole ², tolerate

Example Sentences

So how will the HBO Max show translate for UK audiences?

From BBC

He translates the song’s lyrics from Zulu and Xhosa, two of South Africa’s 12 national languages, and offers a broader critique on the film.

From Los Angeles Times

He woke up before 3 a.m. the day of the verdict and read the 23rd Psalm, translating it from Hebrew, which begins, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”

From The Wall Street Journal

The surtitles intentionally refrain from translating much of what he says, leaving the audience to rely on his loony spoken tone and loony tunes to carry meaning.

From Los Angeles Times

Meanwhile figures such as Albert H. Munsell, a painter-turned-color-theorist, devised systems that mapped color by hue, value and chroma in an effort to translate perception into measurable terms.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• convert
• decipher
• put
• render
• spell out
• transcribe
• turn