translate
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translate
- /tɹɑːnzˈleɪt/ UK
- /tɹænz-/ UK
- /tɹɑːns-/ UK
- /tɹæns-/ UK
- /tɹænzˈleɪt/ US
- /tɹæns-/ US
- /ˈtɹænzˌleɪt/ US
- /ˈtɹæns-/ US
- /ˈtɹɛnz.læɪt/ New Zealand
- [ˈtʃɹʷɛ̃nzɫæe̯ʔ(t)] New Zealand
Rhymes with -eɪt
Where it comes from
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”).
verb translates · translating · translated · translate
- To change spoken words or written text (of a book, document, movie, etc.) from one language to another. Hans translated my novel into Welsh.
- To provide a translation of spoken words or written text in another language; to be, or be capable of being, rendered in another language. Hans translated for us while we were in Marrakesh.
- To express spoken words or written text in a different (often clearer or simpler) way in the same language; to paraphrase, to rephrase, to restate. These works he [Oliver Goldsmith] produced without any elaborate research, by merely selecting, abridging, and translating into his own clear, pure, and flowing language, what he found in books well known to the world, but too bulky or too dry for boys and girls.
- To change (something) from one form or medium to another. The director faithfully translated their experiences to film.
- To rearrange (a song or music) in one genre into another. If one were to chart the form of most film songs, translated into conventional terms used in Western music, one would likely see a structure that has an introduction and two or three stanzas: […]
- To change, or be capable of being changed, from one form or medium to another. Excellent writing does not necessarily translate well into film.
- To generate a chain of amino acids based on the sequence of codons in an mRNA molecule. All mRNAs are translated on the basis of consecutive groups of three bases, codons, being interpreted by the translational machinery […]. Many diverse proteins and RNAs are involved in the translation of mRNA. First is the mRNA itself, which is the template "read" and translated into a protein produ
- Senses relating to a change of position.
- To move (something) from one place or position to another; to transfer. Curſed be he which tranſlateth the bounds and dolles of his Neighbor.
- To transfer the remains of a deceased person (such as a monarch or other important person) from one place to another; (specifically, Christianity) to transfer a holy relic from one shrine to another. Not far from hence is the Church and Convent of the Dominicans, where in the Chapel of St. Catherine of Sienna, they shew her head, the rest of her body being translated to Rome.
- To transfer a bishop or other cleric from one post to another. Iohn Fiſher Biſhop of Rocheſter, when the King [Henry VII of England] would have tranſlated him from that poore Biſhopricke to a better, he refuſed, saying: He would not forſake his poore little olde wife, with whom he had ſo long lived.
- Of a holy person or saint: to be assumed into or to rise to Heaven without bodily death; also (figurative) to die and go to Heaven. By faith Enoch was tranſlated, that he ſhould not ſee death; and was not found, becauſe God had tranſlated him: For before his tranſlation he had this teſtimonie, that he pleaſed God.
- In Euclidean geometry: to transform (a geometric figure or space) by moving every point by the same distance in a given direction. After translating this plane, parallel to the ground line, to the position n#95;1L#95;1r#95;1, these points appear at n#95;1 and r#95;1.
- To map (the axes in a coordinate system) to parallel axes in another coordinate system some distance away. It is convenient at this point to translate the axis of the n dimensional space so that the origin of each axis occurs at its arithmetical mean.
- To cause (a disease or something giving rise to a disease) to move from one body part to another, or (rare) between persons. He [John Mackintosh] considers all the eruptions, even erysipelas, in the light of natural blisters, established by powers inherent in the constitution, which enable it to translate disease from the internal organs to the skin; […]
- To subject (a body) to linear motion with no rotation. Consider a collection of objects – perfectly elastic pool balls, perhaps – rattling around inside a closed, isolated container. We can translate the container and its contents through space, and the physics inside the container is unchanged.
- Of a body: to be subjected to linear motion with no rotation. If the ball were to hit the racket at its center of mass (CM) or balance point (which is usually in the throat of the racket), the racket recoil would be pure translation and there would be no rotation of the racket. Instead, if the ball were to hit in the center of the strung area, the racket would
- To entrance (“place in a trance”), to cause to lose recollection or sense. William was translated by the blow to the head he received, being unable to speak for the next few minutes.
- To repair (used shoes, boots or other clothing) for resale. Boots and Shoes are not to be had, I am told, in sufficient quantity for the demand from the slop-shops, the "translators," and the second-hand dealers. Great quantities of second-hand boots and shoes are sent to Ireland to be "translated" there.
noun translates
- In Euclidean spaces: a set of points obtained by adding a given fixed vector to each point of a given set. [F]ractions with a defining relation are nothing but linear orthogonal arrays or their translates.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: interpret, read, transform, understand, translation, interpretation, transcribe, replicate, articulate, concretize, embody, render, integrate, transmit, incorporate, convert
Translations
Every language
verb to change (something) from one form or medium to another
| Español | traducir, trasladar |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | übertragen |
| Italiano | trasferire, riversare |
verb to change spoken words or written text from one language to another
| Español | traducir, trasladar, verter |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 번역하다 beonyeokhada |
| 日本語 | 訳す yakusu, 翻訳する hon'yaku suru |
| 中文 | 翻譯 /翻译 fānyì, 譯 /译 yì |
| हिन्दी | अनुवाद करना anuvād karnā, भाषान्तर करना bhāṣāntar karnā |
| Kiswahili | tafsiri |
| Português | traduzir, verter |
| Français | traduire |
| Deutsch | übersetzen, übertragen, verdolmetschen, dolmetschen |
| Italiano | tradurre |
| Ελληνικά | μεταφράζω metafrázo |
| Română | a traduce |
| Русский | переводи́ть perevodítʹ, перевести́ perevestí |
| Tiếng Việt | dịch, phiên dịch |
| العربية | تَرْجَمَ tarjama |
| עברית | תִּרְגֵּם tirgem |
verb to subject (a body) to linear motion with no rotation
| 中文 | 平移 píngyí |
|---|---|
| Português | trasladar, transladar |
| Français | translater |
Talk about this word "translate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/translate. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. translate. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/translate "translate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/translate.
Cite this
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BibTeX
@misc{translate_2026,
title = {translate},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/translate},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
