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Glite Dictionary
🤒 Marked by smallpox 💉 To give smallpox
to variolate

to variolate

9.9
To give someone smallpox on purpose to protect them from it
  • verb
  • /ˈvɛəriəˌleɪt/
  • Archaic
translation icon : variolar
  • Don't variolate without proper precautions!

Examples

  • A contaminated object could variolate an entire household if proper precautions were not taken.

  • Doctors in the 18th century would sometimes variolate patients to try to protect them from deadly outbreaks.

  • Before vaccination was common, some communities would variolate children to build immunity to smallpox.

  • Doctors used to variolate patients to prevent smallpox.

  • In the 18th century, doctors would variolate children to help them build immunity against smallpox.

  • Many historical figures, including some royalty, were variolated to prevent severe outbreaks of smallpox.

  • To protect her family during the epidemic, she decided to variolate her children before the disease spread.

Synonyms

to vaccinate
vsto variolate
65 3.7

Give a shot to a person or animal to protect them from disease

is limited to causing immunity only against smallpox rather than against any disease
to vaccine
vsto variolate
3.1

To give someone medicine that makes their body build protection against a disease

is limited to causing immunity only against smallpox rather than against any disease

Surface Forms

variolate infinitive
variolated past
variolated past participle
variolating present participle
variolates third person singular

Morphology

variolate = variola (opaque) = variol + ate

The base 'variola' is a rare medical term for smallpox, and '-ate' does not transparently convey the verbal meaning to most learners.

Etymology

The word variolate comes from the Latin variola 'smallpox', from varius 'spotted', the same root as variety. In the past, doctors would variolate people by giving them a little smallpox on purpose to help protect them later, so the verb means 'to infect or inoculate with smallpox'.