masticate
verb/ˈmæstɪkeɪt/
Etymology From Latin masticātus, perfect passive participle of masticō (“to chew”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Alternatively, back-formation from mastication, either ultimately from Ancient Greek μαστιχάω (mastikháō, “to grind the teeth”). Compare French mastiquer.
1
To chew (usually food).
- The cow stood, quietly masticating its cud.
- The fat boy rose, opened his eyes, swallowed the huge piece of pie he had been in the act of masticating when he last fell asleep, and slowly obeyed his master’s orders.1832, Charles Dickens, chapter 4, in The Pickwick Papers:
4 more examples
- "By tasting it, to be sure," said I, masticating a morsel that Kory-Kory had just put in my mouth.1892, Herman Melville, chapter 12, in Typee: A Romance of the South Seas:
- He resumed his meal. "I had no idea of it," he said, and masticated.1896, H. G. Wells, chapter 8, in The Island of Dr. Moreau:
- The vegetables were not to be cooked but merely grated fine, if I could not masticate them.1927-1929, Mahatma Gandhi, translated by Mahadev Desai, An Autobiography or The Story of my Experiments with Truth, published 1940:
- The friends watch the two make their way between other habitués masticating, drinking, crouched in a scrum of conversation[…]2001, Nadine Gordimer, The Pickup:
2
To grind or knead something into a pulp.
- Derived terms
- masticable, masticator, nonmasticating, premasticate, remasticate, unmasticated
- Related terms
- mastic, mastication, masticatory