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gyrate

/dʒaɪˈɹeɪt/ verb

Latin root: gȳrō Wiktionary

verb Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about gyrate at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

  1. To wind or move in a spiral course.
    the muscles and nerves of his fine drawn body were coiling for action
  2. Revolve quickly and repeatedly around one's own axis.
    The dervishes whirl around and around without getting dizzy

Origin

Back-formation from gyration, on the basis of -ate (verb-forming suffix), from gyre (“to spin around; to gyrate, to whirl; (rare) to make (something) spin or whirl around; to spin, to whirl”) + -ation (suffix indicating actions or processes), further from Late Middle English giren (“to turn (something) away; to cause (something) to revolve or rotate; to travel in a circle”), from Old French girer (“to turn”), from Latin gȳrō (“to turn in a circle, rotate; to circle or revolve around”), from gȳrus (“circle; circular motion; circuit, course”) + -ō (first conjugation verb-forming suffix), from Ancient Greek γῦρος (gûros, “a circle, a ring”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gew- (“to bend; .

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)