💨 To blow in air 🙏 To blow ritually

to insufflate

9.9

To blow or breathe onto something in a religious ceremony to show blessing

verb
/ˈɪnsəˌfleɪt/

Literature

: insuflar

The bishop insufflated upon the candidate’s forehead as part of the rite.

Examples

It was customary for the celebrant to insufflate over the bread before the blessing.
During the ancient ceremony, the priest would insufflate the baptismal water to invoke the Holy Spirit.
The priest will insufflate the altar during the ceremony.
During the baptism, the minister insufflates the water.
During the ancient ceremony, the priest would insufflate the baptismal water to invoke the Holy Spirit.
It was customary for the celebrant to insufflate over the bread before the blessing.
The priest will insufflate the altar during the ceremony.

How Forceful

blow

10 1.0

to insufflate

Literature

9.9

to breathe

7 1.0

Surface Forms

insufflate infinitive

insufflated past

insufflated past participle

insufflating present participle

insufflates third person singular

Morphology

insufflate = sufflate (semi-transparent) = in + sufflate

The morphological formation in- + sufflate is regular, but the ritual/sacramental sense is specialized and 'sufflate' is rare, so the meaning is not obvious to general learners.

Etymology

Insufflate comes from Latin parts in- meaning 'into' and sufflare meaning 'to blow'. A helpful way to remember the ritual sense is that priests would 'blow into' water, bread, or on a person to show giving breath or the Holy Spirit, so insufflate can mean to breathe or blow on something in a religious ceremony.