meditate

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To rest the mind quietly, often for relaxation or spiritual reasons.

   She meditates for twenty minutes every morning before work.

2. 2
   verb

   To think carefully and deeply about something.

   He sat by the window and meditated on what to do next.

Simplified etymology

Meditate entered English in the mid-16th century and ultimately shares an ancient root with meat, which is itself related to mete, an old word meaning “to measure.”

First attested in 1560; borrowed from Latin meditātus, perfect active participle of meditor (“to think or reflect upon, consider, design, purpose, intend”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), morphologically as if frequentative of medeor (“to heal, to cure, to remedy”); in sense and in form near to Ancient Greek μελετάω (meletáō, “to care for, attend to, study, practise, etc.”). Participial usage up until Early Modern English.

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External links

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