Etymology

ruminate

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Today it means: To chew cud. (Said of ruminants.) Involves regurgitating partially digested food from the rumen. Full definition →

Latin rūminātus
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ruminate · verb1

  1. Latin · borrowed fromrūminātus
  2. English todayruminate

First attested in 1533; borrowed from Latin rūminātus, perfect active participle of rūminor (“to chew the cud, turn over in the mind”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from rūmen (“the throat, gullet”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix), itself of uncertain origin.

ruminate · adjective2

  1. Latin · borrowed fromrūminātus
  2. English todayruminate

First attested in 1800, in the writings of John Hull; borrowed from Latin rūminātus, see Etymology 1 and -ate (adjective-forming suffix).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.