superfetate

S1U1P3E1R1F4E1T1A1T1E1

verb

To conceive after a prior conception, but before the birth of the offspring.

Scrabble 16

Meanings

verbsuperfetate (third-person singular simple present superfetates, present participle superfetating, simple past and past participle superfetated)

present singular third person superfetates · participle present superfetating · participle past superfetated · past superfetated

  1. To conceive after a prior conception, but before the birth of the offspring.

    Rabbits breed in every month of the year, and superfetate, as do hares; after giving birth they pair again at once.

    1938, Pliny the Elder, translated by H. Rackham, Natural History, Book 10
    1 more example

    The hare, for instance, which is hunted alike by beasts, birds, and men, breeds so abundantly as even to superfetate, a thing which is true of no other animal. You find in a hare's belly, at one and the same time, some of the young all covered with fur, others quite naked, others again just fully formed in the womb, while the hare perhaps has lately conceived afresh.

    1910, Herodotus, translated by George Rawlinson, The History of Herodotus, Book 3

Origin

  1. Latinsuperfetare
  2. Englishsuperfetate

From Latin superfetare, from super (“above, over”) + fetare (“to bring forth”).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

superfetate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/superfetate

MLA

“superfetate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/superfetate. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “superfetate,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/superfetate.

Source: superfetate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.