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indagate

verb
in·​da·​gate | \ ˈin-də-ˌgāt How to pronounce indagate (audio) \
indagated; indagating

Definition of indagate

transitive verb

: to search into : investigate
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Other Words from indagate

indagation \ ˌin-​də-​ˈgā-​shən How to pronounce indagation (audio) \ noun
indagator \ ˈin-​də-​ˌgā-​tər How to pronounce indagator (audio) \ noun

Did You Know?

A close examination of "indagate" reveals that it's a rather uncommon word. If we delve into the past, we discover that it first appeared in an English dictionary in 1623. Probing further, we see that its synonym "investigate" was already a hundred years old at the time. Despite the fact that our search turns up the derivatives "indagation," "indagator," "indagatory," and "indagative," we see that none of these words was ever used as widely as "investigation," "investigator," "investigatory," and "investigative." If we hunt for the etymology of indagate, we sniff out the Latin verb indagare ("to track"), which often referred, as did Latin investigare, specifically to tracking done by hunting dogs.

First Known Use of indagate

circa 1623, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for indagate

Latin indagatus, past participle of indagare, from indago ring of hunters encircling game, act of searching, from Old Latin indu in + Latin agere to drive — more at end-, agent

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Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with indagate

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