I. ˈpərkəˌlāt, ˈpə̄k-, ˈpəik-, chiefly in substand speech -kyə-; usu -ād.+V verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Latin percolatus, past participle of percolare, from per- through + colare to filter, strain, sieve — more at per- , colander
transitive verb
1.
a. : to cause (a liquid) to pass through a permeable substance : filter , strain
b.
(1) : to cause a liquid to pass through (as coffee) in order to extract the essence
(2) : to prepare (coffee) by percolation
c. : to ooze or drain slowly through (a porous medium)
2. : to be diffused through : penetrate
events … percolated the censorships and reached the cables — F.L.Paxson
intransitive verb
1. : to ooze or trickle through a permeable substance : seep
rainwaters … percolate between the loose sands and gravels that fill the buried valley — R.E.Janssen
2.
a. : to undergo percolation
waited for the coffee to percolate — Willa Cather
b. : to be or become lively or effervescent : show animation
once his voice is percolating to his satisfaction — Joseph Wechsberg
keep college football spirit percolating — F.J.Taylor
3. : to become diffused : spread gradually
allow the sunlight to percolate into our rooms — Norman Douglas
soldiers and political police had already percolated into Bulgaria — Sir Winston Churchill
II. “; -_lə̇t, usu -ə̇d.+V noun
( -s )
: a product of percolation
no increase in nitrite in the soil percolate — Biological Abstracts
III. intransitive verb
: simmer 2a
the feud had been percolating for a long time