titivate

titivate
titivate1
titivation, n.titivator, n.
/tit"euh vayt'/, v., titivated, titivating.
v.t.
1. to make smart or spruce: She titivated her old dress with a new belt.
v.i.
2. to make oneself smart or spruce.
Also, tittivate.
[1795-1805; earlier tidivate (TIDY + (ELE)VATE; i.e., tidy up)]
titivate2
/tit"euh vayt'/, v.t., titivated, titivating.
titillate.
[1910-15; by erroneous assoc.]

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Titivate — Tit i*vate, Tittivate Tit ti*vate, v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. {Titivated}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Titivating}.] [Formed from an uncertain source, in imitation of words in ate fr. L.] To dress or smarten up; to spruce. {Tit i*va tion}, {Tit ti*va tion}, n …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • titivate — 1805, perhaps from TIDY (Cf. tidy) with a quai Latin ending …   Etymology dictionary

  • titivate — ► VERB informal ▪ make smarter or more attractive. DERIVATIVES titivation noun. ORIGIN originally also spelt tidivate: perhaps from TIDY(Cf. ↑tidy) …   English terms dictionary

  • titivate — [tit′ə vāt΄] vt., vi. titivated, titivating [earlier tidivate, tiddivate, prob. < TIDY, with quasi Latin suffix] to dress up; spruce up titivation n …   English World dictionary

  • titivate — titillate, titivate Titillate means ‘to excite’ (Some interesting titles to titillate your literary tastebuds), and often has sexual overtones (especially in the noun derivative titillation), whereas titivate means ‘to adorn or smarten’ (Striking …   Modern English usage

  • titivate — [ tɪtɪveɪt] verb informal make minor enhancements to. ↘(titivate oneself) make oneself look smart. Derivatives titivation noun Origin C19 (in early use, also as tidivate): perh. from tidy, on the pattern of cultivate. Usage The verbs …   English new terms dictionary

  • titivate — UK [ˈtɪtɪveɪt] / US [ˈtɪtɪˌveɪt] verb [intransitive/transitive] Word forms titivate : present tense I/you/we/they titivate he/she/it titivates present participle titivating past tense titivated past participle titivated British informal to make… …   English dictionary

  • titivate oneself — make oneself look smart. → titivate …   English new terms dictionary

  • titivate — or tittivate verb ( vated; vating) Etymology: perhaps from 1tidy + renovate Date: 1824 transitive verb to make smart or spruce intransitive verb smarten, spruce • titivation noun …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • titivate — verb /ˈtɪt.ɪ.veɪt,ˈtɪt.ə.veɪt/ To make small improvements or alterations to (ones appearance etc.); to add some finishing touches to …   Wiktionary

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