pullulate

English

WOTD – 3 November 2008

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin pullulātus, perfect passive participle of pullulō (“sprout forth”), from pullulus (“a young animal, a sprout”), diminutive of pullus.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ˈpʌl.jʊ.leɪt/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Verb

pullulate (third-person singular simple present pullulates, present participle pullulating, simple past and past participle pullulated)

1. To multiply rapidly.
2. To germinate.
3. To teem with; to be filled (with).
   • 1945, Evelyn Waugh, chapter 1, in Brideshead Revisited […], London: Chapman & Hall, published 1952, →OCLC, book 1 (Et in Arcadia Ego), page 22:

     I must say the whole of Oxford has become most peculiar suddenly. Last night it was pullulating with women.

Derived terms

• pullulation

Related terms

• pullet, poultry
• repullulate

Translations

to multiply rapidly

Bulgarian: гъмжа (bg) (gǎmža), размножавам се (razmnožavam se) Polish: mnożyć się (pl), plenić się Russian: размножаться (ru) (razmnožatʹsja)

to germinate

Bulgarian: покарвам (bg) (pokarvam), пониквам (bg) (ponikvam) Dutch: kiemen (nl), zich ontwikkelen German: keimen (de), sprießen (de) Polish: kiełkować (pl), zakiełkować Russian: прорастать (ru) (prorastatʹ)

to teem; to be filled (with)

Bulgarian: гъмжа (bg) (gǎmža) Dutch: krioelen (nl) Russian: кишеть (ru) (kišetʹ)

Italian

Etymology 1

Verb

pullulate

1. inflection of pullulare:
   1. second-person plural present indicative
   2. second-person plural imperative

Etymology 2

Participle

pullulate f pl

1. feminine plural of pullulato

Latin

Verb

pullulāte

1. second-person plural present active imperative of pullulō