operate, v.
(ˈɒpəreɪt)
[f. L. operāt-, ppl. stem of operārī to work, labour, take pains, bestow pains on; in late L., also, to have effect, be active, produce by working, cause, f. opus, oper- work.]
I. Intransitive senses.
1. To be in working, exercise force or influence, produce an effect, act, work.
| 1606 Shakes. Tr. & Cr. v. iii. 108 Th' effect doth operate another way. 1611 ― Cymb. v. v. 196 Mine Italian braine Gan in your duller Britaine operate Most vildely. 1671 Blagrave Astrol. Physic 21 The..Influence of the Moon unto any planet doth begin to opperate when she is within ten degrees aspecting any planet. 1794 Paley Evid. (1825) II. 418 Religion operates most upon those of whom history knows the least. 1818 Jas. Mill Brit. India II. v. ix. 713 The whole force of the motives,..which operate to their appointment, must operate likewise to connivance at their faults. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. iii. I. 407 The revolutionary spirit, ceasing to operate in politics. 1874 Morley Compromise (1886) 119 Though themselves invisible to the outer world, they [convictions] may yet operate with magnetic force..upon other parts of our belief. |
2. Of persons: To bring force or influence to bear on or upon; † formerly also simply, to exert oneself to do something.
| 1650 Howell Giraffi's Rev. Naples i. 82 The Archbishop..did desire His Excellence wold operate to bring to a period that solemn ceremony. 1783 Watson Philip III (1793) II. v. 100 They endeavoured to counteract its effects by operating upon his natural ambition. 1790 Beatson Nav. & Mil. Mem. I. 246 He knew the Highland chieftans well, and how to operate on them. 1833 Act 3 & 4 Will. IV, c. 46 §61 An account to be opened in the name of the commissioners, and to be operated upon by the treasurer for the time. |
3. To produce the intended or proper effect; esp. of drugs and medicines, as cathartics, etc.: To act.
| 1706 Phillips, To operate, to work or stir the Humours of the Body, as Physick does. 1783 J. C. Smyth in Med. Commun. I. 142 The bolus has operated four or five times. 1793 Smeaton Edystone L. §307 Everything, regarding the light, operated in a proper manner. 1804 Abernethy Surg. Obs. 186 He had taken purging medicine..which had operated. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. v. I. 582 The Act of Attainder was a remedy which could not operate till all danger was over. |
4. a. To perform a practical operation or series of operations: see operation 5. Const. on, upon.
| 1674 R. Godfrey Inj. & Ab. Physic Pref., I by diligent observance, by Operating,..having gain'd the knowledg of some Injuries in Physick. 1832 Porter Porcelain & Gl. ix. 239 It is necessary to operate upon both sides of the plate. 1870 Jevons Elem. Logic ii. 9 Instruments with which we must operate in reasoning. 1882 Rep. to Ho. Repr. Prec. Met. U.S. 271 An arrastra is now being built to operate upon the ores of the Wayup. |
b. Surg.: see operation 6.
| 1799 Med. Jrnl. II. 157 Vesalius,..in his ‘Chirurg. magn.’..describes the whole process of operating. 1826 A. C. Hutchison Pract. Obs. Surg. 314 note, A boy was operated upon in Haslar hospital, and recovered. 1894 Westm. Gaz. 4 July 2/3 The phrase ‘When in doubt, operate’, was, I believe, first made use of by Sir William Lawrence with regard to the methods to be adopted in treating cases of strangulated hernia. |
c. Mil. and Naval. To carry on warlike operations: see operation 7. Also transf., of a gambler, criminal, etc.
| 1808 [see operating ppl. a.]. 1863 P. Barry Dockyard Econ. 137 Against no Power whatever could we operate successfully on the coast with our Minotaurs, our Valiants, or our Warriors. 1883 Sweet & Knox On Mexican Mustang through Texas (1884) i. 16 This high-toned and honorable desperado ‘operated’ in one of the inland cities of Texas two years ago. 1885 Manch. Exam. 22 June 5/4 A Russian army operating against India..could be assailed on the flank. 1901 ‘J. Flynt’ World of Graft 19 The West Side grafters..who have ‘operated’ in Chicago. 1955 D. W. Maurer in Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. XXIV. 30 There are the lone wolves, who are professionals, but who operate predominantly alone, without the support of a mob,..for example, jewel thieves of some types, swindlers, expert forgers. 1975 T. Allbeury Special Collection xi. 73, I set up a network for him dealing with industrial espionage. It operated into West Germany. |
d. To deal or speculate in stocks or shares; to buy and sell commodities as a broker.
| 1859 Athenæum 23 July 113 A bull in the same jargon, is one who operates for a rise. 1868 E. Seyd Bullion 480 If between these he sees profits he operates. 1889 Harper's Mag. Aug. 448/1 Do you think all men who are what you call operating around are like that? 1961 in Webster. |
e. To function, to fulfil a function, to act. (Closely related to sense 4 a.)
| 1931 J. T. Adams Epic of Amer. viii. 221 There were..a thousand boats operating regularly on the Mississippi. 1932 [see cylinder n. 6]. 1932 N. M. Butler Looking Forward xi. 117 Government officials operating in all parts of the country. 1971 Gloss. Electrotechnical, Power Terms (B.S.I.) i. iii. 13 A relay operates when it completes its designed function in a specified output circuit(s). 1972 Daily Tel. 16 Nov. 7/1 Extra buses and Underground trains will operate on most routes. 1976 National Observer (U.S.) 2 Oct. 18/3 Rudderless and without a keel, the 195-foot craft operates similar to a flat-bottomed fishing boat. |
II. Transitive senses.
5. To effect or produce by action or the exertion of force or influence; to bring about, accomplish, work.
| 1637 Saltonstall Eusebius' Constantine 160 Tis an generall position that that which..hath no being cannot operate, or effect any thing. 1642 Milton Argt. conc. Militia 12 Now plotting to operate the ruine of the Protestant Religion. 1799 N. Drake in Beddoes Contrib. Phys. & Med. Knowl. 478 The digitalis was supposed to have operated a cure. 1889 Nature 19 Sept. 510/2 Energy in the form of light operates changes in the surface of bodies. |
6. To cause or actuate the working of; to work (a machine, etc.). Chiefly U.S.
| 1864 Webster s.v., To operate a machine. 1872 Omaha Bee in Times 28 Nov. 7/3 The monster [steam snow plough]..will be operated by three of the heaviest engines on the road. 1876 Preece & Sivewright Telegraphy 285 Every current sent on that circuit operates each instrument alike and simultaneously. 1886 Troy (U.S.) Daily Times 24 Dec. 3 Estimates of the cost of operating the cars..by the motor will be furnished. 1888 Scribner's Mag. Aug. 187/1 The number of arc lamps which are nightly operated by the different electric lighting companies in the city of New York is probably over five thousand. |
7. To direct the working of; to manage, conduct, work (a railway, business, etc.); to carry out or through, direct to an end (a principle, an undertaking, etc.). orig. U.S.
| 1880 Travellers' Off. Guide U.S. & Canada July 91 The Roads owned and operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad. 1883 F. A. Walker Pol. Econ. 432 State railways and private companies' lines were operated side by side. 1887 Lit. World (U.S.) 6 Aug. 248/1 How long is it to be before the government of the United States will operate the telegraph system of the country as it operates the mails? 1891 Leeds Merc. 19 Sept. 11 The..Company operate a large foundry. 1948 ‘N. Shute’ No Highway i. 19 C.A.T.O. are operating five or six of them [sc. aircraft] on the Atlantic route. 1971 D. Potter Brit. Eliz. Stamps xii. 130 Cambrian Airways..took over the operation of some internal routes previously operated only by bea. 1974 Anderson (S. Carolina) Independent 20 Apr. 2A/1 Joe King, who operates a hardware store 13 miles south of Greenville on S.C. 25, fired four bullets into their car as they fled. |
8. Surg. To operate on. (See sense 4 b.)
| 1908 Practitioner Sept. 423, I know of two cases of pyelitis which were operated in mistake for appendicitis. 1915 W. Owen Let. 1 Mar. (1967) 324 Dr Denucé (who operated Sarah Bernhardt—and Charlie). 1925 Simmons & Fishbein Art & Pract. Medical Writing v. 43 ‘Operate’ means, and is generally synonymous with, ‘to work’: the terms nearly always may be used interchangeably. The surgeon who would hesitate to say ‘I worked this patient’ says, without a blush, ‘I operated this patient.’ 1930 Amer. Speech V. 289 Of those questioned 26½ per cent used ‘operated him’, 40 per cent used ‘operated on’, and 33½ per cent used ‘operated upon him’. |
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Add: III. 9. The infin. used attrib., in the sense ‘operating’, to designate that which causes or enables something to operate, or a period during which a thing is operative.
| 1954 Brit. Jrnl. Psychol. XLV. 219 For cycling, the operate key is set in the upward position. 1969 Rev. Electr. Communication Lab. (Tokyo) XVII. 809/2 The operate time is defined as the value from the time the voltage is applied to the relay to the time the armature reaches x = x0. 1971 Gloss. Electrotechnical, Power Terms (B.S.I.) i. iii. 15 Operate current, minimum current which, when applied in the same direction and immediately following removal of saturation current, will cause the relay to operate. 1985–86 Hasler Rev. Winter XVIII. 89/1 The Hasler electronic time measuring unit ELZE..is specially designed for the measurement and adjustment of relay operate times and release times. |