I. tran(t)ˈslāt, traan-, -nzˈ- also ˈ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷, usu -ād.+V verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Latin translatus, tralatus (suppletive past participle of transferre to transfer, translate), from trans- + latus, suppletive past participle of ferre to bear, carry — more at bear , tolerate
transitive verb
1.
a. : to bear, remove, or change from one place or condition to another : transport , transfer , convey — usually used with to
I was translated from the country to the city — Kenneth Mackenzie
he translated the fight … to the public arena — L.M.Hughes
a fine play has been superlatively translated to the screen — Current Biography
the saint's relics were translated from the crypt to the … shrine — Dorothy G. Spicer
translated him to the War Department — N.W.Stephenson & H.W.H.Knott
b. : to remove or convey to heaven or to a nontemporal condition without death
by faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death — Heb 11:5 (Authorized Version)
those Muslims who hold that the Mahdi was translated in an earlier century
c. : to transfer (a bishop) from one see to another
if a bishop be translated he must be introduced as the holder of the see — T.E.May
2.
a. : to turn into one's own or another language : render
is learning to translate Latin
— usually used with into
Chinese ideograms are translated into Japanese — David Diringer
had to translate the characters into spoken Korean — Cornelius Osgood
b. : to transfer or turn from any special system of representation, set of symbols, or calculus into another such system, set, or calculus : transcribe — usually used with into
imperative that the reporter translate his notes into longhand — B.M.Metzger
translate books into braille
a linguistic code … can be translated into a binary code — R.W.Brown b. 1925
translate mathematical truths into logical truths
c. : decode , encode
this solution will permit the cryptanalyst to translate additional messages — W.W.R.Ball
when he translates his message into a coded one — Aaron Bakst
d. : to express in different words : paraphrase — usually used with into
what remains of the poetry after we have translated it into prose
the terminology used by technicians … is translated into the language of the layman — Lucile Bagwell
e. : to express in explanatory or more comprehensible terms : explain , interpret
the element which is so difficult to translate in the idea of fair play — Margaret Mead
it translates my childish impressions accurately enough — A.T.Quiller-Couch
all such novels have their special language which you must translate … to learn the real intention of the artist — M.D.Geismar
— often used with into
has translated Moloc's words into contemporary human terms — Wayne Burns
3.
a. : to change the substance, form, or appearance of : transform , transmute , convert — usually used with into
translates the girl into a witch
the projection kinescope … translates the video signal into a pattern of light and shadows on the tube face — C.L.Dawes
cars are translated into scrap — New Yorker
the time required to translate new ideas into practical military weapons — H.S.Truman
the prime mover which translates energy into power — Roger Burlingame
designers translate the … styling of an import into a modified and wearable version for the American woman — Dorothy O'Neill
b. Britain : to transform (old garments or shoes) by repairing, renovating, or remaking from old materials
for two of these the costumes were translated from old sets — E.K.Chambers
a number of men were fixing up — translating — old boots — Robert Sandall
4. : transport , enrapture , entrance
5. : to change the position of (a body or figure) in space without rotation
6. : to repeat or forward (a message) by telegraphic translation
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to practice rendering from one language or representational system into another
he translates for the patent attorney
also : to make such a rendering or translation
no one but a language learner needs to be told … that a word-for-word transposition does not translate — Jackson Mathews
in class the teacher asks him to translate
b. : to admit of or be adaptable to translation
words that translate into every language — D.D.Eisenhower
a Portuguese word that does not translate easily — David Dodge
2. : to repeat or forward a message by telegraphic translation
II. transitive verb
: to subject (as genetic information) to translation in protein synthesis