v.
Pronunciation: ' p ə r-k ə - ˌ l ā t, ÷-ky ə -
Function: verb
Inflected Form: -lat · ed ; -lat · ing
Etymology: Latin percolatus, past participle of percolare, from per- through + colare to sieve ― more at PER- , COLANDER
Date: 1626
transitive verb
1 a : to cause (a solvent) to pass through a permeable substance (as a powdered drug) especially for extracting a soluble constituent b : to prepare (coffee) in a percolator
2 : to be diffused through : PENETRATE
intransitive verb
1 : to ooze or trickle through a permeable substance : SEEP
2 a : to become percolated b : to become lively or effervescent
3 : to spread gradually <allow the sunlight to percolate into our rooms ― Norman Douglas>
4 : SIMMER 2A <the feud had been percolating for a long time>
– per · co · la · tion \ ˌ p ə r-k ə - ' l ā -sh ə n \ noun