2 entries found for animate.
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animate[1,adjective] animate[2,verb]

Main Entry: ¹an·i·mate
Pronunciation: an--mt
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle English animate "alive," from Latin animatus (same meaning), derived from anima "soul, breath" --related to ANIMAL --see Word History at ANIMAL
1 : having life : ALIVE
2 : ANIMATED 1, lively
- an·i·mate·ly adverb
- an·i·mate·ness noun
Word History The same Latin word anima meaning "breath, soul" that gave us animal has given us other words. The English adjective animate meaning "alive" comes from the Latin verb animare meaning "to give life to," which in turn came from anima. A characteristic of animals is their ability to move about. When a cartoon is drawn and filmed in such a way that lifelike movement is produced, we say it is animated. An animated film seems to have a life of its own.