translate

B1 Topic:Communication

US /tɹænzˈleɪt/ UK /tɹɑːnzˈleɪt/ See IPA manual

Freq #7228

Meanings

1

verb
To change words from one language into another.

Can you translate this letter from French into English?
2

verb
To explain something in simpler or clearer words.

Can you translate the legal terms into plain English for me?
3

verb
To result in or lead to something else.

Higher wages translate into greater spending power.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to change words from one... render

Word family

Forms translatedtranslatestranslating

Derived forms back-translatebacktranslatecotranslatemachine-translatemistranslateovertranslateretranslatesight-translatetranslatabilitytranslatabletranslateseundertranslate

Related forms transfer transference translationtranslationaltranslationallytranslativetranslativestranslator translatoryxlate

Etymology

From Middle English translaten (“to transport, translate, transform”), from Anglo-Norman translater, from Latin trānslātus, perfect passive participle of trānsferō (“to transport, carry across, translate”). See also -ate (verb-forming suffix). Distant doublet of transfer, see collate and confer, delate and defer, as well as prelate and prefer among others. In this sense, displaced Old English wendan (“to translate,” also the word for “to turn” and “to change”).

*telh₂- (bear) Proto-Indo-European translaten Middle English translater xno trānslātus Latin

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# translate

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /tɹænzˈleɪt/
**IPA (UK):** /tɹɑːnzˈleɪt/
**Frequency rank:** 7228

## Meanings
1. To change words from one language into another.
2. To explain something in simpler or clearer words.
3. To result in or lead to something else.

## Examples
- Can you translate this letter from French into English?
- Can you translate the legal terms into plain English for me?
- Higher wages translate into greater spending power.

## Derived Forms
- back-translate
- backtranslate
- cotranslate
- machine-translate
- mistranslate
- overtranslate
- retranslate
- sight-translate
- translatability
- translatable
- translatese
- undertranslate

## Related Forms
- transfer
- transference
- translation
- translational
- translationally
- translative
- translatives
- translator
- translatory
- xlate

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *telh₂- (bear)
- Root: translaten
- Root: translater
- Root: trānslātus
- Affix: trans- - across

## Etymology
From Middle English translaten (“to transport, translate, transform”), from Anglo-Norman translater, from Latin trānslātus, perfect passive participle of trānsferō (“to transport, carry across, translate”). See also -ate (verb-forming suffix). Distant doublet of transfer, see collate and confer, delate and defer, as well as prelate and prefer among others. In this sense, displaced Old English wendan (“to translate,” also the word for “to turn” and “to change”).

## AI Etymology
Translate is from Middle English translaten (“to transport, translate, transform”), from Anglo-Norman translater, from Latin trānslātus, perfect passive participle of trānsferō (“to transport, carry across, translate”). See also -ate (verb-forming suffix). Distant doublet of transfer, see collate and confer, delate and defer, as well as prelate and prefer among others. In this sense, displaced Old English wendan (“to translate,” also the word for “to turn” and “to change”). Derived formations include back-translate, backtranslate, cotranslate, machine-translate, mistranslate, overtranslate, retranslate, sight-translate.

## Topics
- Communication

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