permeate

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin permeātus, past participle of permeāre (“to pass through”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpɜːmiˌeɪt/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈpɝmiˌeɪ̯t/

Verb

permeate (third-person singular simple present permeates, present participle permeating, simple past and past participle permeated)

1. (transitive) To pass through the pores or interstices of; to penetrate and pass through without causing rupture or displacement; applied especially to fluids which pass through substances of loose texture

   water permeates sand

2. (transitive) To enter and spread through; to pervade.

   Bright sunshine permeates the room on a sunny day.

   • 1854, Saint Anselm, translated by Sidney Norton Deane, Proslogium and Monologium/Monologium/Chapter 14

     ...it is clear that this Being itself, is what supports and surpasses, includes and permeates all other things.

   • 1906 April, O. Henry [pseudonym; William Sydney Porter], “From the Cabby’s Seat”, in The Four Million, New York, N.Y.: McClure, Phillips & Co, →OCLC, page 165:

     In the fulness of time there was an eruption of the merry-makers to the sidewalk. The uninvited guests enveloped and permeated them, and upon the night air rose joyous cries, congratulations, laughter and unclassified noises born of McGary's oblations to the hymeneal scene.

   • 1922 January 4, William Shackleton, Shackleton's diaries:

     The old smell of dead whale permeates everything. It is a strange and curious place.

   • 1946 May and June, J. Alan Rannie, “The Midland of 35 Years Ago”, in Railway Magazine, page 135:

     Also, much depended on an exceptional esprit de corps which permeated the whole staff, and achieved miracles of promptitude in such details as engine-changing and the marshalling of trains.

Related terms

• permeable
• permeant
• permeation
• permeator

Translations

to pass through the pores or interstices of; to penetrate and pass through without causing rupture or displacement

Bulgarian: просмуквам се (prosmukvam se), пропивам се (propivam se) Catalan: (please verify) impregnar (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: 滲透／渗透 (zh) (shèntòu) Czech: prosakovat impf, prolínat impf, pronikat (cs) impf Dutch: doordringen (nl) French: s’infiltrer (fr), s’insinuer (fr) German: durchsickern (de) Indonesian: tembus (id) Italian: permeare (it) Japanese: 染み込む (ja) (しみこむ, shimikomu) Lithuanian: sunktis, prasisunkti Malay: تلڤ (telap) Portuguese: permear (pt) Russian: проса́чиваться (ru) (prosáčivatʹsja), пропи́тывать (ru) (propítyvatʹ), прони́зывать (ru) (pronízyvatʹ), проника́ть (ru) (pronikátʹ) Spanish: percolar (es), permear (es) Swedish: genomtränga (sv) Tocharian B: snätk-

to enter and spread through; to pervade

Bulgarian: разпространявам се (razprostranjavam se) Czech: pronikat (cs) impf, proniknout (cs) pf French: imprégner (fr) German: durchdringen (de), sich verbreiten (de) Italian: permeare (it) Portuguese: permear (pt) Russian: распространя́ться (ru) (rasprostranjátʹsja), проника́ть (ru) (pronikátʹ) Spanish: permear (es) Swedish: genomtränga (sv)

Noun

permeate

1. A watery by-product of milk production.
2. Liquid that has passed through a filtration system.

References

• “permeate”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “permeate”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Italian

Etymology 1

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

permeate

1. inflection of permeare:
   1. second-person plural present indicative
   2. second-person plural imperative

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Participle

permeate f pl

1. feminine plural of permeato

Latin

Verb

permeāte

1. second-person plural present active imperative of permeō

Spanish

Verb

permeate

1. second-person singular voseo imperative of permear combined with te