vaccinate

C2+ Topic:Health & Medicine

US /ˈvæksɪneɪt/ UK /ˈvæksɪneɪt/ See IPA manual

verb

Meanings

1

verb
to treat with a vaccine to produce immunity against a disease

Clinics worked to vaccinate the entire town before winter set in.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to treat with a vaccine to... immunizeinoculate jab

Word family

Derived forms vaccinationvaccinatorvaccinated

Related forms vaccine

Etymology

From Latin vaccīnus ('relating to cows'), from vacca ('cow'); coined after Edward Jenner's use of cowpox (variolae vaccinae) to confer immunity against smallpox.

vaccīnus Latin vacca Latin

View etymology graph ->

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Health & Medicine Word Formation & Derivatives

# vaccinate

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** ˈvæksɪneɪt
**IPA (UK):** ˈvæksɪneɪt

## Meanings
1. to treat with a vaccine to produce immunity against a disease

## Examples
- Clinics worked to vaccinate the entire town before winter set in.

## Synonyms
- immunize
- inoculate
- jab

## Derived Forms
- vaccination
- vaccinator
- vaccinated

## Related Forms
- vaccine

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: vaccīnus
- Root: vacca

## Etymology
From Latin vaccīnus ('relating to cows'), from vacca ('cow'); coined after Edward Jenner's use of cowpox (variolae vaccinae) to confer immunity against smallpox.

## AI Etymology
Vaccinate comes from Latin vaccīnus ('relating to cows'), from vacca ('cow'); coined after Edward Jenner's use of cowpox (variolae vaccinae) to confer immunity against smallpox. In current use it is a verb meaning "to treat with a vaccine to produce immunity against a disease". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The history is mainly one of transmission into English, with the older form and sense carried through borrowing or adaptation. The historical chain includes Latin vaccīnus and Latin vacca. Related English forms include vaccine. Derived forms include vaccination, vaccinator, and vaccinated. For dictionary purposes, the important point is the continuity between the older form, the route into English, and the present lexical sense.

## Topics
- Health & Medicine
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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vaccinate

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