Variolate
adj, verb
adj, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Verb
- 1 To infect with smallpox. transitive
"Lady Montagu encouraged the Princess of Wales to variolate her two daughters. To assure herself of the safety of the procedure, the Princess first forced disenfranchised subjects -- several prisoners and an orphan -- to be variolated."
Adjective
- 1 Having the pitted appearance of smallpox.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"Lady Montagu encouraged the Princess of Wales to variolate her two daughters. To assure herself of the safety of the procedure, the Princess first forced disenfranchised subjects -- several prisoners and an orphan -- to be variolated."
Etymology
Etymology 1
From variola + -ate (adjective-forming suffix).
Etymology 2
From variole + -ate (verb-forming suffix).