translate

[trans-leyt, tranz-, trans-leyt, tranz-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR translate ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), trans·lat·ed, trans·lat·ing.

to turn from one language into another or from a foreign language into one's own: to translate Spanish.

to change the form, condition, nature, etc., of; transform; convert: to translate wishes into deeds.

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

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

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

Computers. to convert (a program, data, code, etc.) from one form to another: to translate a FORTRAN program into assembly language.

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

Ecclesiastical.

to move (a bishop) from one see to another.
to move (a see) from one place to another.
to move (relics) from one place to another.

to convey or remove to heaven without natural death.

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

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

to exalt in spiritual or emotional ecstasy; enrapture.

verb (used without object), trans·lat·ed, trans·lat·ing.

to provide or make a translation; act as translator.

to admit of translation: The Greek expression does not translate easily into English.

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. 2019

Related Words for translate

convert, transcribe, render, put, turn, decipher, transform, alter, elucidate, gloss, transpose, decode, simplify, reword, explicate, paraphrase, construe, transliterate, transmute, metamorphose

Examples from the Web for translate

Contemporary Examples of translate

Do they have a plan for how to translate a ceasefire into something more durable?
Local Truces Are Syria’s Sad Little Pieces of Peace
Joshua Hersh
November 18, 2014
Or translate an interview maybe because I do like to translate things.
The Kardashian Look-Alike Trolling for Assad
Noah Shachtman, Michael Kennedy
October 17, 2014
Of course, deep innovations only translate into revenue if they can go to global markets effectively.
The Latest in High-Tech Chips
September 18, 2014
This allows news reporters to translate whatever is said by a Scot being interviewed into whatever will make the most news.
Up to a Point: A Free Scotland Would Be a Hilarious Disaster
P. J. O’Rourke
September 13, 2014
Asian slapstick humor does not translate well, and most of the captive audience agreed, although they grudgingly watched it.
Prisoners Get Cultural Fix with 8-Tracks and Bootleg Cassettes
Daniel Genis
August 18, 2014

Historical Examples of translate

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.
The Auburndale Watch Company
Edwin A. Battison
In that case we should translate “chwerthin wanar,” “their leader laughed.”
Y Gododin
Aneurin

British Dictionary definitions for translate

translate

verb

to express or be capable of being expressed in another language or dialecthe translated Shakespeare into Afrikaans; his books translate well

(intr) to act as translator

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

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

(tr) to transform or convertto translate hope into reality

(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)

to move or carry from one place or position to another

(tr)

to transfer (a cleric) from one ecclesiastical office to another
to transfer (a see) from one place to another

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

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

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

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

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

Derived Formstranslatable, adjectivetranslatability, noun

Word Origin for translate

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

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).

translate in Medicine

translate

[trăns-lāt′, trănz-, trăns′lāt′, trănz′-]

v.

To render in another language.

To put into simpler terms; explain or interpret.

To subject mRNA to translation.

Related formstrans•lat′a•bil′i•ty n.trans•lat′a•ble adj.