distribute
English
Etymology
| PIE word |
|---|
| *tréyes |
From Latin distributus, past participle of distribuere (“to divide, distribute”), from dis- (“apart”) + tribuere (“to give, impart”); see tribute.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /dɨˈstɹɪbjuːt/, /ˈdɪstɹɨbjuːt/
- (General American) enPR: dĭ-strĭbʹyo͞ot, IPA(key): /dɪˈstɹɪbjut/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɪbjuːt, -ɪstɹɪbjuːt
- Hyphenation: dis‧trib‧ute
Verb
distribute (third-person singular simple present distributes, present participle distributing, simple past and past participle distributed)
- (transitive) To divide into portions and dispense.
- He distributed the bread amongst his followers.
- (transitive) To supply to retail outlets.
- The agency distributes newspapers to local shops.
- (transitive) To deliver or pass out.
- A network of children distributes flyers to every house.
- 1960 December, “The Glasgow Suburban Electrification is opened”, in Trains Illustrated, page 714:
- Above all, the 48-page timetables of the new service, which have been distributed free at every station in the scheme, are a model to the rest of B.R. For the first time on British Railways, so far as we are aware, a substantial timetable has been produced, not only without a single footnote but also devoid of all wearisome asterisks, stars, letter suffixes and other hieroglyphics.
- (transitive) To scatter or spread.
- I raked the soil then distributed grass seed.
- (transitive) To apportion (more or less evenly).
- The robot's six legs distributed its weight over a wide area.
- (transitive) To classify or separate into categories.
- The database distributed verbs into transitive and intransitive segments.
- (intransitive, mathematics) To be distributive.
- (printing) To separate (type which has been used) and return it to the proper boxes in the cases.
- (printing) To spread (ink) evenly, as upon a roller or a table.
- (logic) To employ (a term) in its whole extent; to take as universal in one premise.
- 1826, Richard Whately, Elements of Logic
- A term is said to be distributed when it is taken universal, so as to stand for everything it is capable of being applied to.
- 1826, Richard Whately, Elements of Logic
- (business) To have employees working remotely from multiple locations.
- distributed business; distributed employee
Synonyms
- (to divide into portions and dispense): allot, dispend, parcel out; see also Thesaurus:distribute
- (to deliver or pass out): courier
- (to scatter or spread): disperse, sparble, strew; see also Thesaurus:disperse
- (to classify or separate into categories): categorize, sort; see also Thesaurus:classify
Derived terms
Derived terms
- distributable
- distribution
- distributionism
- distributism
- distributivism
- distributivity
- distributor
Translations
to distribute — see disperse
to divide into portions and dispense
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to supply to retail outlets
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to deliver or pass out
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to scatter or spread
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to apportion
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to classify or separate into categories
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to be distributive
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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Further reading
- distribute in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- distribute in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
Anagrams
- turbidites
Latin
Etymology
From distribūtus, participle of distribuō (“distribute, apportion”).
Adverb
distribūtē (comparative distribūtius, superlative distribūtissimē)
- orderly, methodically
Related terms
- distribuō
- distribūtiō
- distribūtus
References
- “distribute”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, 1st edition. (Oxford University Press)