æstivate, v.
(ˈɛstɪveɪt, ˈiːstɪveɪt)
Also estivate.
[f. L. æstīvāt- ppl. stem of æstīvā-re to reside during the summer; f. æstīv-us: see æstive. Cf. Fr. estiver (16th c.).]
To spend the summer. esp. in Zool. To pass the summer in a state of torpor or suspended animation. (Cf. hibernate.)
| 1626 Cockeram, Aestiuate, to summer in a place. 1742 Bailey, æstivate, to sojourn or lodge in a Place in Summertime. 1854 Woodward Mollusca (1856) 49 The mollusca..æ stivate, or fall into a summer sleep, when the heat is great. 1882 Pall Mall G. 1 Feb. 5 The snails of the equatorial region, though they do not hibernate, yet æstivate (if we may coin a word). |