Pronunciation: tran(t)s- ' l ā t, tranz-; ' tran(t)s- ˌ l ā t, ' tranz-
Function: verb
Inflected Form: trans · lat · ed ; trans · lat · ing
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French translater, from Latin translatus (pp. of transferre to transfer, translate), from trans- + latus, past participle of ferre to carry ― more at TOLERATE , BEAR
Date: 14th century
transitive verb
1 a : to bear, remove, or change from one place, state, form, or appearance to another : TRANSFER , TRANSFORM <a country boy translated to the city> < translate ideas into action> b : to convey to heaven or to a nontemporal condition without death c : to transfer (a bishop) from one see to another
2 a : to turn into one's own or another language b : to transfer or turn from one set of symbols into another : TRANSCRIBE c (1) : to express in different terms and especially different words : PARAPHRASE (2) : to express in more comprehensible terms : EXPLAIN , INTERPRET
3 : ENRAPTURE
4 : to subject to mathematical translation
5 : to subject (as genetic information) to translation in protein synthesis
intransitive verb
1 : to practice translation or make a translation also : to admit of or be adaptable to translation <a word that doesn't translate easily>
2 : to undergo a translation
3 : LEAD , RESULT ― usually used with into <believes that tax cuts will translate into economic growth>
– trans · lat · abil · i · ty \ ( ˌ )tran(t)s- ˌ l ā -t ə - ' bi-l ə -t ē , ( ˌ )tranz- \ noun
– trans · lat · able \ tran(t)s- ' l ā -t ə -b ə l, tranz- \ adjective
– trans · la · tor \ - ' l ā -t ə r \ noun