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ruminate

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ruminate¹

  • /ˈɹumɪneɪt/

Where it comes from

First attested in 1533; borrowed from Latin rūminātus, perfect active participle of rūminor (“to chew the cud, turn over in the mind”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from rūmen (“the throat, gullet”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix), itself of uncertain origin.

verb ruminates · ruminating · ruminated · ruminate

  1. intransitive To chew cud. (Said of ruminants.) Involves regurgitating partially digested food from the rumen. A camel will ruminate just as a cow will.
  2. intransitive To meditate or reflect. I didn't answer right away because I needed to ruminate first.
  3. transitive To meditate or ponder over; to muse on. What I know / Is ruminated, plotted, and set down.

Similar: Or Thesaurus:think

ruminate²

  • /ˈɹuːmɪnət/ UK
  • /ˈɹumənət/ US

Where it comes from

First attested in 1800, in the writings of John Hull; borrowed from Latin rūminātus, see Etymology 1 and -ate (adjective-forming suffix).

adjective

  1. not comparable Having a hard albumen penetrated by irregular channels filled with softer matter, as the nutmeg and the seeds of the North American papaw. a ruminate endosperm

Thesaurus

verb

Similar: Or Thesaurus:think

Translations

Every language

verb intransitive: to meditate

Españolrumiar, rebinar, cavilar
Portuguêsruminar, remoer
Françaisruminer
Deutschgrübeln
Ελληνικάσκέφτομαι skéftomai
Românărumega (o idee)

verb to chew cud

Españolrumiar
中文反芻 /反刍 fǎnchú
Portuguêsruminar, rumiar
Françaisruminer
Deutschwiederkäuen
Italianoruminare
Ελληνικάμηρυκάζω mirykázo
Românărumega
Русскийжева́ть жва́чку ževátʹ žváčku
العربيةاجْتَرَّ ijtarra

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MLA

"ruminate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/ruminate. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

ruminate. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/ruminate

Chicago

"ruminate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/ruminate.

BibTeX
@misc{ruminate_2026,
  title = {ruminate},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/ruminate},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}