treat

B1 Topic:Actions & Processes

Also spelled a-treat’n

US /tɹiːt/ See IPA manual

Freq #1279

Meanings

1

verb
To behave towards or deal with someone or something in a particular way.

She treats her employees with great respect.
2

verb
To give someone medical care for an illness or injury.

The doctor treated my broken leg.
3

verb
To pay for something nice for someone as a gift or special favour.

Grandmother always treated us to the circus.
4

verb
To deal with a subject in writing or speech.

The article treats feminism as a quintessentially modern movement.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 verb · to give someone medical... care for

3 verb · to pay for something nice... regale

4 verb · to deal with a subject in... discusstalk abouttalk over

Word family

Forms treatedtreatingtreats

Derived forms heat-treatill-treatpretreatre-treatretreattreat-to-targettreatable treatmenttrick-or-treatuntreatable

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

treat a burn
to provide medical care for a burn injury

Verb + noun

Proverbs (1)

See all

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you
Matching variant: Treat others as you would have them treat you

Simplified etymology

Treat entered Middle English from Old French traitier, ultimately from Latin tractare, “to handle.” Its earliest English meanings were “negotiate” and “discuss a subject.” The pleasurable-event sense arose in the mid-17th century through the ideas of receiving guests and providing entertainment for them.

Etymology

From Middle English treten, from Anglo-Norman treter, Old French tretier, traiter, from Latin tractāre (“to pull", "to manage”), from the past participle stem of trahere (“to draw", "to pull”).

treten Middle English treter xno tretier Old French tracto Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# treat

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /tɹiːt/
**Frequency rank:** 1279

## Meanings
1. To behave towards or deal with someone or something in a particular way.
2. To give someone medical care for an illness or injury.
3. To pay for something nice for someone as a gift or special favour.
4. To deal with a subject in writing or speech.

## Examples
- She treats her employees with great respect.
- The doctor treated my broken leg.
- Grandmother always treated us to the circus.
- The article treats feminism as a quintessentially modern movement.

## Derived Forms
- heat-treat
- ill-treat
- pretreat
- re-treat
- retreat
- treat-to-target
- treatable
- treatment
- trick-or-treat
- untreatable

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: treten
- Root: treter
- Root: tretier
- Root: tracto

## Etymology
From Middle English treten, from Anglo-Norman treter, Old French tretier, traiter, from Latin tractāre (“to pull", "to manage”), from the past participle stem of trahere (“to draw", "to pull”).

## AI Etymology
Treat is from Middle English treten, from Anglo-Norman treter, Old French tretier, traiter, from Latin tractāre (“to pull", "to manage”), from the past participle stem of trahere (“to draw", "to pull”). The historical line also includes Middle English treten, xno treter, Old French tretier, Latin tracto. In present-day use, it can mean to behave towards or deal with someone or something in a particular way, or to give someone medical care for an illness or injury. Derived formations include heat-treat, ill-treat, pretreat, re-treat, retreat, treat-to-target, treatable, treatment.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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