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translate

[trans-leyt, tranz-, trans-leyt, tranz-]
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verb (used with object), trans·lat·ed, trans·lat·ing.
  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), trans·lat·ed, trans·lat·ing.
  1. to provide or make a translation; act as translator.
  2. to admit of translation: The Greek expression does not translate easily into English.
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Origin of translate

1250–1300; Middle English translaten < Latin trānslātus (past participle of trānsferre to transfer), equivalent to trāns- trans- + -lātus (suppletive past participle of ferre to bear1), earlier *tlātus, equivalent to *tlā- bear (akin to thole2) + -tus past participle suffix
Related formstrans·lat·a·ble, adjectivetrans·lat·a·bil·i·ty, trans·lat·a·ble·ness, nounhalf-trans·lat·ed, adjectivein·ter·trans·lat·a·ble, adjectivepre·trans·late, verb (used with object), pre·trans·lat·ed, pre·trans·lat·ing.re·trans·late, verb (used with object), re·trans·lat·ed, re·trans·lat·ing.un·trans·lat·a·bil·i·ty, nounun·trans·lat·a·ble, adjectiveun·trans·lat·ed, adjectivewell-trans·lat·ed, adjective
Can be confusedtranslate transliterate
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

converttranscriberenderputturndeciphertransformalterelucidateglosstransposedecodesimplifyrewordexplicateparaphraseconstruetransliteratetransmutemetamorphose

Examples from the Web for translate

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • I laughingly begged him to translate the remark, which he did with a smile.

    The Roof of France

    Matilda Betham-Edwards

  • She was, indeed, ill-treated; but what were we, to translate the phrase?

    Meadow Grass

    Alice Brown

  • Some apology must be made for an attempt "to translate the untranslatable."

    Reflections

    Francois Duc De La Rochefoucauld

  • Several attempts had been made to translate this conception into a reality.

  • In that case we should translate “chwerthin wanar,” “their leader laughed.”

    Y Gododin

    Aneurin

British Dictionary definitions for translate

translate

verb
  1. to express or be capable of being expressed in another language or dialecthe 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 convertto 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 codeSee also transcribe (def. 7)
  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. (tr) archaic to bring to a state of spiritual or emotional ecstasy
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Derived Formstranslatable, adjectivetranslatability, noun

Word Origin

C13: from Latin translātus transferred, carried over, from transferre to transfer
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 translate

v.

c.1300, "to remove from one place to another," also "to turn from one language to another," from Latin translatus "carried over," serving as past participle of transferre "to bring over, carry over" (see transfer), from trans- (see trans-) + latus "borne, carried," from *tlatos, from PIE root *tel-, *tol- "to bear, carry" (see extol). Related: Translated; translating. A similar notion is behind the Old English word it replaced, awendan, from wendan "to turn, direct" (see wend).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
translate in Medicine

translate

(trăns-lāt′, trănz-, trăns′lāt′, trănz′-)
v.
  1. To render in another language.
  2. To put into simpler terms; explain or interpret.
  3. To subject mRNA to translation.
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Related formstrans•lat′a•bil′i•ty n.trans•lat′a•ble adj.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.