pullulate
English
WOTD – 3 November 2008
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin pullulātus, perfect passive participle of pullulō (“sprout forth”), from pullulus (“a young animal, a sprout”), diminutive of pullus.
Pronunciation
Verb
pullulate (third-person singular simple present pullulates, present participle pullulating, simple past and past participle pullulated)
- To multiply rapidly.
- To germinate.
- To teem with; to be filled (with).
- 1945, Evelyn Waugh, chapter 1, in Brideshead Revisited […], London: Chapman & Hall, published 1952, →OCLC, book 1 (Et in Arcadia Ego), page 22:
- I must say the whole of Oxford has become most peculiar suddenly. Last night it was pullulating with women.
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
to multiply rapidly
|
to germinate
to teem; to be filled (with)
Italian
Etymology 1
Verb
pullulate
- inflection of pullulare:
- second-person plural present indicative
- second-person plural imperative
Etymology 2
Participle
pullulate f pl
- feminine plural of pullulato
Latin
Verb
pullulāte
- second-person plural present active imperative of pullulō