Apricate
verb ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 To bask in the sun. intransitive, rare
"Cats like to apricate."
- 2 To disinfect and freshen by exposing to the sun; to sun. also, figuratively, rare, transitive
"No longer were social parties the old heraldic solemnities enjoyed by red letters in the almanac, in which the chief objects were to discharge some arrear of ceremonious debt, or to ventilate old velvets, or to apricate and refresh old gouty systems and old traditions of feudal ostentation, which both alike suffered and grew smoke-dried under too rigorous a seclusion."
Example
More examples"From the top of this gatehouse was a most pleasant and delightful prospect as is to be seen. His Lordship [Sir Thomas More] was wont to recreate himself in this place to apricate and contemplate, and his little dog with him."
Etymology
From Latin apricus (“sunny, having lots of sunshine; warmed by the sun”) + -ate. Apricus is derived from aperiō (“to open; to uncover”) (from Proto-Indo-European *h₂epo (“off, from”) + *h₂wer- (“to cover, shut”)) + -cus (suffix forming relational adjectives from nouns). Not cognate with apricot, although the latter term was also influenced by apricus.
More for "apricate"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.