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Webster 1913 Edition

Mutilate

Mu′ti-late

,
Adj.
[L.
mutilatus
, p. p. of
mutilare
to mutilate, fr.
mutilus
maimed; cf. Gr. [GREEK], [GREEK]. Cf.
Mutton
.]
1.
Deprived of, or having lost, an important part; mutilated.
Sir T. Browne.
2.
(Zool.)
Having finlike appendages or flukes instead of legs, as a cetacean.

Mu′ti-late

,
Noun.
(Zool.)
A cetacean, or a sirenian.

Mu′ti-late

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Mutilated
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Mutilating
.]
1.
To cut off or remove a limb or essential part of; to maim; to cripple; to disfigure; to hack;
as, to
mutilate
the body, a statue, etc.
2.
To destroy or remove a material part of, so as to render imperfect;
as, to
mutilate
the orations of Cicero
.
Among the
mutilated
poets of antiquity, there is none whose fragments are so beautiful as those of Sappho.
Addison.
Mutilated gear
,
Mutilated wheel
(Mach.)
,
a gear wheel from a portion of whose periphery the cogs are omitted. It is used for giving intermittent movements.

Webster 1828 Edition

Mutilate

MU'TILATE

,
Verb.
T.
[L. mutilo, probably from the root of meto, to cut off.]
1.
To cut off a limb or essential part of an animal body. To cut off the hand or foot is to mutilate the body or the person.
2.
To cut or break off, or otherwise separate any important part, as of a statue or building.
3.
To retrench, destroy or remove any material part, so as to render the thing imperfect; as, to mutilate the poems of Homer or the orations of Cicero.
Among the mutilated poets of antiquity,there is none whose fragments are so beautiful as those of Sappho.

Definition 2024

mutilate

mutilate

English

Verb

mutilate ‎(third-person singular simple present mutilates, present participle mutilating, simple past and past participle mutilated)

  1. To physically harm as to impair use, notably by cutting off or otherwise disabling a vital part, such as a limb.
  2. To destroy beyond recognition.
  3. (figuratively) To render imperfect or defective.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

See also

Adjective

mutilate ‎(not comparable)

  1. (obsolete) Deprived of, or having lost, an important part; mutilated.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Sir Thomas Browne to this entry?)
  2. (zoology) Having fin-like appendages or flukes instead of legs, as a cetacean does.

Alternative forms

  • mut. (abbreviation)

Anagrams

Italian

Verb

mutilate

  1. second-person plural present indicative of mutilare
  2. second-person plural imperative of mutilare
  3. feminine plural of mutilato

Anagrams

Latin

Verb

mutilāte

  1. second-person plural present active imperative of mutilō

Etymology

From Latin mutilatus, the past participle of mutilare 'to mutilate', itself from mutilus 'maimed'

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