assimilate

English

WOTD – 25 July 2008

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin assimilātus, variant of Latin assimulātus (“made similar, imitated”), perfect passive participle of assimulō, from ad + simulō (“imitate, copy”), from similis (“like, similar”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sem- (“together, one”). Doublet of assemble.

Pronunciation

(UK, US) IPA^(key): /əˈsɪm.ɪ.leɪt/
Audio (US) (file)
Audio (AU) (file)

Verb

assimilate (third-person singular simple present assimilates, present participle assimilating, simple past and past participle assimilated)

(transitive) To incorporate nutrients into the body, especially after digestion.
Food is assimilated and converted into organic tissue.
- 1704, I[saac] N[ewton], “(please specify |book=1 to 3)”, in Opticks: Or, A Treatise of the Reflexions, Refractions, Inflexions and Colours of Light. […], London: […] Sam[uel] Smith, and Benj[amin] Walford, printers to the Royal Society, […], OCLC 1118497469:
  Hence also it may be that the parts of animals and vegetables preserve their several forms and assimilate their nourishment
(transitive) To incorporate or absorb (knowledge) into the mind.
The teacher paused in her lecture to allow the students to assimilate what she had said.
- 1850, Charles Merivale, History of the Romans Under the Empire
  His mind had no power to assimilate the lessons.
(transitive) To absorb (a person or people) into a community or culture.
The aliens in the science-fiction film wanted to assimilate human beings into their own race.
(transitive, rare, used with "to" or "with") To liken, compare to something similar.
- 2005 October 12, Spencer, J. R., transl., Penal Code [of France]‎, Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, retrieved 2020-01-19, page 25:
  The use of an animal to kill, wound or threaten is assimilated to the use of a weapon.
(transitive) To bring to a likeness or to conformity; to cause a resemblance between.
- March 13, 1866, John Bright, The reform bill on the motion for leave to bring in the bill
  to assimilate our law in respect to the law of Scotland
- 1782–1785, William Cowper, “(please specify the page)”, in The Task, a Poem, […], London: […] J[oseph] Johnson; […], OCLC 228757725:
  Fast falls a fleecy shower; the downy flakes / Assimilate all objects.
- 1676, Matthew Hale, “Meditations upon the Lord’s Prayer”, in Contemplations Moral and Divine. The Second Part, London: […] William Shrewsbury […], and Tho[mas] Leigh and D[aniel] Midwinter, […], published 1699, OCLC 1227563770, page 478:
  [I]t [the seed of life] doth, by degrees, aſſimilate the whole inward Man to this living Principle, and conforms the Life unto it.
(intransitive) To become similar.
(intransitive) To be incorporated or absorbed into something.

Synonyms

(incorporate or absorb knowledge into the mind): process
(absorb a group of people into a community): integrate

Translations

to incorporate nutrients into the body after digestion

Afrikaans: assimileer
Albanian: asimiloj (sq)
Bengali: সম্মেলিত (sômmelit)
Bulgarian: усвоявам (bg) (usvojavam)
Catalan: assimilar (ca)
Finnish: imeytyä (fi)
French: assimiler (fr), absorber (fr)
Hebrew: הטמעה‎ (he)
Hindi: सम्मेलित (sammelit)
Ido: asimilar (io)
Polish: asymilować impf, zasymilować pf, przyswajać (pl) impf, przyswoić (pl) pf
Portuguese: assimilar (pt), anabolizar
Romanian: asimila (ro)
Russian: усваивать (ru) impf (usvaivatʹ)
Serbo-Croatian: asimilírati (sh)

to incorporate or absorb knowledge into the mind

Albanian: asimiloj (sq)
Bulgarian: усвоявам (bg) (usvojavam)
Finnish: omaksua (fi), sisäistää (fi)
French: assimiler (fr), digérer (fr) (informal)
Greek: αφομοιώνω (el) (afomoióno)
Ido: asimilar (io)
Polish: asymilować impf, zasymilować pf, przejmować (pl) impf, przejąć (pl) pf
Portuguese: assimilar (pt), absorver (pt)
Serbo-Croatian: asimilírati (sh)

to absorb a group of people into a community

Albanian: asimiloj (sq)
Armenian: ձուլել (hy) (julel)
Bulgarian: асимилирам (bg) (asimiliram)
Catalan: assimilar (ca)
Chinese:
Mandarin: please add this translation if you can
Dutch: assimileren (nl), integreren (nl)
Esperanto: asimili (eo)
Finnish: sulauttaa
French: assimiler (fr)
Georgian: please add this translation if you can
German: assimilieren (de)
Greek: αφομοιώνω (el) (afomoióno)
Hungarian: asszimilál (hu)
Ido: asimilar (io)
Indonesian: asimilasi (id)
Italian: assimilare (it)
Japanese: 同化する (dōka-suru)
Khmer: please add this translation if you can
Polish: asymilować impf, zasymilować pf
Portuguese: assimilar (pt), integrar (pt)
Russian: ассимили́ровать (ru) (assimilírovatʹ)
Serbo-Croatian: asimilírati (sh)
Spanish: asimilar (es)
Thai: please add this translation if you can
Turkish: asimile etmek (tr)
Vietnamese: đồng hóa

to compare something to another similar one

Albanian: asimiloj (sq)
Bulgarian: наподобявам (bg) (napodobjavam)
Catalan: assimilar-se (ca)
Dutch: vergelijken (nl)
Finnish: rinnastaa (fi)
French: assimiler (fr)

to bring to a likeness or to conformity; to cause a resemblance between

Hungarian: hasonít
Polish: asymilować impf, zasymilować pf

to become similar

Hungarian: hasonul

to be incorporated or absorbed into something

Armenian: ձուլվել (hy) (julvel)
Hungarian: asszimilálódik
Polish: asymilować się impf, zasymilować się pf

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

Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} asimili (eo)
Italian: ^{(please verify)} assimilare (it)

Noun

assimilate

Something that is or has been assimilated.
- 2005, Ep Heuvelink, Tomatoes, →ISBN, page 65:
  At low light intensity, high temperature delays the first flower initiation, as assimilate supply is limiting and high temperature reduces the amount of assimilate available in the plant[.]
- 2012, A. Läuchli; R.L. Bieleski, Inorganic Plant Nutrition, →ISBN, page 83:
  the growing root and ectomycorrhizas both act as assimilate sinks

Translations

Polish: asymilat m

Italian

Verb

assimilate

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

Latin

Verb

assimilāte

second-person plural present active imperative of assimilō