▪ I. communicate, v.
(kəˈmjuːnɪkeɪt)
Also 6 commynycat, communycat, -ate, 7 communicat. Pa. pple. 6–7 communicate, -at.
[f. L. commūnicāt- ppl. stem of commūnicā-re to make common to many, share, impart, divide, f. commūn-is common + -ic- formative of factitive verbs. The earlier Eng. spellings partly followed the variants of common a.]
1. trans. To give to another as a partaker; to give a share of; to impart, confer, transmit (something intangible or abstract, as light, heat, motion, a quality, feeling, etc.). Const. to.
| 1538 Starkey England i. i. 21 God, that..communycatyth hys gudnes to al other. 1594 T. B. La Primaud. Fr. Acad. ii. 13 Hee communicateth vnto vs as much celestiall and heauenly light as is needefull. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. iv. xlv. 353 The Græcians..communicated their Language..into Asia. 1752 Johnson Rambler No. 204 ¶5 Eminently qualified to receive or communicate pleasure. 1769 Robertson Chas. V, V. v. 437 The prisoners communicated to them the pestilence. 1862 Ruskin Munera P. (1880) 5 Both moral and physical qualities are communicated by descent. 1875 Jevons Money (1878) 125 It has a disagreeable odour which it communicates to the fingers. |
2. spec. a. To impart (information, knowledge, or the like); to impart or convey the knowledge of, inform a person of, tell. Const. to, formerly with (the person informed); or absol.
| 1529 Wolsey in Ellis Orig. Lett. i. 102 II. 2, I wold nut onely commynycat thyngs unto you, wherin, etc. 1555 Eden Decades W. Ind. (Arb.) 340 He wolde..haue communicate this secreate to his owne contrey men. 1559 Morwyng Evonym. Pref., I will communicate it with the studious of Physick. 1611 Bible Gal. ii. 2, I..communicated vnto them that Gospel, which I preach. 1675 R. Burthogge Causa Dei 335 Doctrines..communicated down from hand to hand by Immemorial Tradition. 1704 Swift T. Tub i, The discovery he made and communicated with his friends. 1757 Foote Author 1, You may communicate; this Gentleman is a Friend. 1860 Tyndall Glac. ii. ix. 272 The result of his observations was communicated to Prof. Jameson. |
b. To impart by way of information to a society, the readers of a journal, or the like; to make a ‘communication’.
| 1684 [see communicated]. 1786 T. Jefferson Writ. (1859) I. 567, I should be glad to communicate some answer. 1880 Athenæum 25 Dec., Mr. Scott communicated a paper ‘On a collection of Hemiptera from Japan’. |
3. a. To impart (as a share, portion, or specimen); to give, bestow (a material thing). ? Obs.
| 1582 N.T. (Rhem.) Gal. vi. 6 Let him that is catechized..communicate to him that catechizeth him. 1597 Gerarde Herbal i. xxxv. 50 [I] did communicate one of the plants thereof vnto Clusius. 1650 Fuller Pisgah iv. vi. 107 Sometimes, Kings did..communicate their robes to be worn by their Favorites. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 130 ¶2 If I would, they should tell us our Fortunes..We rid up and communicated our Hands to them [the Gipsies]. a 1763 Shenstone Ess. 2 Obliged to bid adieu to what he communicates. |
† b. To bestow as a name to be shared. Obs. rare.
| 1563 Homilies ii. Rebellion i. (1859) 554 So doth God himselfe..vouchsafe to communicate his Name with earthly Princes, terming them gods. 1605 Camden Rem. (1637) 103 Wisedome; a name peculiarly applyed..to our most blessed Saviour..And therefore some godly men do more than dislike it as irreligious, that it should be communicated to any other. |
4. To share, share in, partake of; to use, or enjoy, in common (with); to share with (either by receiving or bestowing). arch.
| 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 221 The sacramentes of the chirche, and the..receyuynge of them, whiche holy christyans doth communycate. 1574 T. Cartwright Full Declar. 166 Why do we communicate the holie Sacramentes with the Papistes? 1582 in Spottiswood Hist. Ch. Scot. vi. (1677) 324 That the Queen of Scots should communicate the Crown with her Son. 1605 B. Jonson Sejanus iii. i, Thousands, that communicate our loss. 1612 Bacon Ess., Goodness (Arb.) 202 Common benefits are to bee communicate with all. 1616 R. C. Times' Whis. v. 212 That which man communicates with beast. 1640 E. Dacres tr. Machiavel's Prince 160 Hee writ that, being elected Emperour by the Senate, hee would willingly communicate it with him, and thereupon sent him the title of Caesar. 1890 W. Wallace Schopenhauer 67 Nor was he the only acquaintance with whom Schopenhauer communicated some of his..means. |
† 5. intr. To have a common part, take part, partake, participate, share. a. Const. with (a person), in, rarely of (the thing). Obs.
| 1579 Fenton Guicciard. (1618) 309 Cæsar the Dictator, of whom you beare the surname, and communicate in his fortunes. 1598 J. Dickenson Greene in Conc. (1878) 138 Sensuall delights (wherein we wholly communicate with beasts). 1653 Holcroft Procopius ii. 56 For him who communicated of the Emperours secrets. 1658 Whole Duty Man xv. §4. 118 We are..to communicate with them in all holy offices. 1709 Stanhope Paraphr. IV. 51 The absurdity of communicating in Heathen Rites. |
b. Const. with (the thing).
| 1579 Fenton Guicciard. (1618) 182 His brethren communicated with his fortune, being betrayed by the same disloyaltie of the Swissers. 1611 Bible Philipp. iv. 14 Yee haue well done, that ye did communicate with my affliction. 1634 Canne Necess. Separ. (1849) 124 The worship of the English service book is unlawful to be communicated with. |
6. a. To unite in the celebration or observance of the Lord's Supper; to partake of or receive the Holy Communion.
| 1549 Bk. Com. Prayer, Communion Rubric, Though there be none to communicate with the Priest..To communicate once in the year at the least. 1651 C. Cartwright Cert. Relig. i. 283 In Cyprians time all that did communicate at all, did communicate in both kinds. 1740 Wesley Wks. (1872) I. 279 Every one who was baptized communicated daily. 1844 Lingard Anglo-Sax. Ch. (1858) II. i. 10 Attended but did not communicate at the mass. 1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 83 He certainly had scruples about communicating with the Church of England. |
† b. trans. Obs.
| 1641 Baker Chron. 25/2 He communicated the mysteries of the blessed body of Christ. 1647 Souldier's March to Salvation 19 The army of King William..did give themselves to acknowledge their sins, prayer, and communicating the Lord's body. 1709 Strype Ann. Ref. I. xxi. 258 When he [Calvin] came first to Geneva, the Sacrament was communicated but thrice in the year. |
7. a. To administer the Communion to.
| 1539 Act 31 Hen. VIII, c. 14 That al men should be communicate with bothe kindes. 1616 Brent tr. Sarpi's Counc. Trent (1676) 321 Whether children ought to be communicated. 1855 Card. Wiseman Fabiola 73 Speaking of a married woman communicating herself at home. 1872 O. Shipley Gloss. Eccl. Terms 10 s.v. Administration, The Eastern Church communicates the faithful in both kinds. |
† b. intr. To administer the Communion (to).
| 1635 E. Pagitt Christianogr. iii. (1636) 108 We command no Priest to communicate to the people in both kinds. |
† 8. refl. To put oneself into familiar relations; to hold or have intercourse or converse. Obs.
| 1561 T. Norton Calvin's Inst. i. 33 He came downe as a meane betwene God and men..His nie communicating himself made him to be called an Angell. 1624 Heywood Gunaik. iv. 175 Her own brother with whom she communicated herselfe as to a husband. 1639 F. Robartes God's Holy H. 45 Prayer, whereby to communicate himselfe to almighty God. 1779–81 Johnson L.P., Garth, He communicated himself through a very wide extent of acquaintance. |
9. intr. To hold intercourse or converse; (now always) to impart, transmit, or exchange thought or information (by speech, writing, or signs); to make a communication. Const. with. Also absol. (reciprocally); spec. in writing, painting, etc.: to convey one's thoughts, feelings, etc., successfully; to gain understanding or sympathy.
| 1598 Hakluyt Voy. I. 159 (R.) Euen so the marchants..of our soueraigne lord..may..friendly bee vsed, and with your marchants and subiects suffered to communicate and to haue intercourse of traffique. 1652 Nicholas Papers (1886) 316 Sir Alexander Hume and I have very much conversation together..and, if you advise him to communicate freely with me, etc. 1850 Prescott Peru II. 298 He..put in at one of the Azores, where he remained until he could communicate with home. 1850 Tennyson In Mem. lxxxv. xxi, In dear words of human speech We two communicate no more. 1865 Tylor Early Hist. Man. ii. 18 No means of communicating with others but by signs. 1959 Listener 2 July 27/1 They buy only pictures that will communicate readily. 1962 Ibid. 22 Feb. 324/2 The spectacle is of the artist doubtful about himself, his social role, his own ends, his power to communicate. |
10. Of vessels, spaces, rooms, etc.: To open into each other by a common channel or aperture whereby the whole becomes as one space, etc.; to have communication or continuity of passage. Also said of the connecting channel or passage.
| 1731 Arbuthnot Aliments (J.), A system of such canals, which all communicate with one another. 1796 Morse Amer. Geog. I. 128 James's Bay lies at the bottom..of Hudson's Bay, with which it communicates. 1833 Act 3 & 4 Will. IV, c. 46 §95 One waste..pipe..to communicate with any drain. 1839 G. Bird Nat. Philos. 88 When several vessels..communicate together, the same conditions of equilibrium obtain as when fluids are contained in a single vessel. Mod. Their apartments are separate, but they communicate by a door. A dressing-room communicating with this bedroom. |
Hence coˈmmunicated ppl. a., coˈmmunicating vbl. n. and ppl. a.; communicating trench = communication trench.
| 1559 Bp. Scot in Strype Ann. Ref. I. App. x. 30 The communicatinge, that is, the eatinge and drinkinge of the..blessed body and blood. 1644 Milton Judgm. Bucer Wks. 1738 I. 288 The..main end of Marriage, is the communicating of all duties, both divine and human, each to other. 1646 H. Lawrence Comm. Angels Aa 4 b, The good Angels..are extreamly communicating to us. 1684–5 Boyle Min. Waters Advt., The communicated writing is not pretended to be a full..History of Mineral Waters. 1831 R. Knox Cloquet's Anat. 677 The communicating artery of Willis, which comes from the internal carotid. 1884 N. York Herald 27 Oct. 2/2 Two large, communicating front Rooms. 1914 D. O. Barnett Lett. (1915) 19 We couldn't go up the communicating trench to the firing line because it was full of water. 1918 in E. S. Farrow Dict. Mil. Terms. |
▪ II. † coˈmmunicate, ppl. a. Obs.
Also -at.
[ad. L. commūnicāt-us, pa. pple. of commūnicāre: see prec. and -ate2.]
= communicated.
| 1561 T. Norton Calvin's Inst. ii. xiv. (1634) 226 The property of the manhood is communicate with the other nature. 1610 W. Folkingham Art of Survey i. vi. 11 Communicate Matter is that which is participable to the Plot together with other Places. 1671 True Nonconf. 308 The things of God..being only communicat by the revelation. |