expiscate
verbEtymology From Latin expiscatus, past participle of expiscari (“to fish out”), from ex (“out”) + piscari (“to fish”), piscis (“fish”). By surface analysis, ex- + Latin pisc- + -ate.
1
Archaic, Formal To fish out; to find out by skill or laborious investigation; to search out or rummage (for information)
- Mathematics may be separated into two divisions, one of which expiscates principles or methods, and the other rules or applications.1860, John Pringle Nichol, A Cyclopaedia of Physical Sciences:
- as if every man had to expiscate for himself from the beginning a system of religious belief1866, William Lindsay Alexander, Our Lord's Commendation of the study of Holy Scripture:
1 more example
- November 1893, Robert Louis Stevenson, Vailima Letters, Chapter XXXIV I am in a fair way to expiscate my family history
- Related terms
- expiscation, expiscatory