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Flagellate

//ˈflæ.d͡ʒəˌleɪt// adj, noun, verb

Definitions

Adjective

1
Resembling a whip.
2
Having flagella.

Adjective

1
having or resembling a lash or whip (as does a flagellum) wordnet

Noun

1
Any organism that has flagella.
2
a usually nonphotosynthetic free-living protozoan with whiplike appendages; some are pathogens of humans and other animals wordnet

Verb

1
To whip or scourge. transitive
"Red welts rising from a flagellated back"
2
whip wordnet
3
To harshly chide or chastise, to reprimand. idiomatic, transitive
4
Of a spermatozoon, to move its tail back and forth. transitive
"The gigantic egg sits, and the frantic and tiny sperm flagellates its tail to cross vast distances on its quest for dissolution in the huge egg."

Etymology

Etymology 1

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₂-? Proto-Indo-European *-rós Latin flagrum Proto-Indo-European *-lós Proto-Italic *-elos Latin -lus Latin flagellum Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin flagellō Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Italic *-tos Latin -tus Latin flagellātuslbor. English flagellate First attested in 1623; borrowed from Latin flagellātus perfect passive participle of flagellō (“to whip, flog”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix).

Etymology 2

First attested in 1867; from flagellum + -ate (adjective-forming suffix) as well as Latin flagellum + -ate. The noun was substantivized from the adjective, see -ate (noun-forming suffix).

Etymology 3

First attested in 1867; from flagellum + -ate (adjective-forming suffix) as well as Latin flagellum + -ate. The noun was substantivized from the adjective, see -ate (noun-forming suffix).

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