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vellicate

American  
[vel-i-keyt] / ˈvɛl ɪˌkeɪt /

verb (used with object)

vellicated, vellicating

  1. to pluck; twitch.

  2. to nip, pinch, or the like.

  3. to cause to twitch.

verb (used without object)

vellicated, vellicating

  1. to move with spasmodic convulsions; twitch.

vellicate British  
/ ˈvɛlɪˌkeɪt /

verb

  1. rare to twitch, pluck, or pinch

"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

Other Word Forms

  • vellication noun
  • vellicative adjective

Etymology

Origin of vellicate

1595–1605; < Latin vellicātus, past participle of vellicāre, frequentative of vellere to pull, twitch; -ate 1

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.