Etymology

adulterate

adul·ter·ate
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Today it means: Corrupted or made impure by being mixed with something else; adulterated. Full definition →

First used common in the 16th and 17th c.Latin adulterātus
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adulterate · adjective1

  1. Latin · borrowed fromadulterātus“adulterate, adulterated, defiled, polluted, counterfeited”
  2. English todayadulterate

From Latin adulterātus (“adulterate, adulterated, defiled, polluted, counterfeited”), perfect passive participle of adulterō (“to adulterate, defile, commit adultery (with), counterfeit”) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from ad- (“to, in the direction of”) + alter (“other”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix), literally “to go after someone else”. Equivalent to adultery + -ate.

adulterate · verb2

  1. Latin · derived fromadulterātus
  2. English todayadulterate

From Latin adulterātus, see Etymology 1 and -ate (verb-forming suffix).

First known use, by meaning

  • common in the 16th and 17th c. Corrupted or made impure by being mixed with something else; adulterated.
  • common in the 16th and 17th c. Tending to commit adultery; relating to or being the product of adultery; adulterous.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.