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masticate, v.

DRAFT REVISION Sept. 2010

Brit. /mastket/, U.S. /mæstket/  Forms: 15- masticate, 16 mastigate. [Either < post-classical Latin masticat-, past participial stem of masticare to chew (4th cent.; < ancient Greek to gnash the teeth), or back-formation < MASTICATION n. (compare -ATE suffix³). Ancient Greek , related to ancient Greek jaw (see MASTAX n.), is attested only in Hesiod and a late gloss; it is likely to have had popular rather than literary currency, and the Latin verb derived from it may likewise have been in use long before its first literary attestation.
  Post-classical Latin masticare Old French, Middle French maschier (c1190), Middle French mascher (15th cent.; French mâcher: compare PAPIER MÂCHÉ n.; also Middle French mastiguer (c1370), Middle French, French mastiquer (1425)), Old Occitan mastegar (13th cent.), maschar (14th cent., < French), Italian masticare (14th cent.), Spanish mascar (1490; also masticar, mastigar (beginning of the 17th cent.)), Portuguese mascar (15th cent.; also mastigar (14th cent.)).] 

    1. a. trans. To reduce (food) to a pulp with the teeth; to grind up by, or as if by, chewing.

1562 W. FULWOOD tr. G. Gratarolus Castel of Mem. ii. sig. Cvj^v, Cubebes masticated or chewed, doe sucour by al meanes. 1649 BP. J. TAYLOR Great Exemplar I. Disc. iv. 128 Some chewed bitter pills and masticated gummes. 1663 R. BAYFIELD 88 Barley masticated, or chewed, upon an empty stomach. 1746 R. JAMES in Moffett & Bennet's Health's Improvem. (new ed.) Introd. 2 It is..a very great Error to swallow the Aliment before it is duly masticated. 1790 ‘A. PASQUIN’ Postscript to New Bath Guide xiv. 143 When Care to this paragon sends a hard crust, To masticate as mortals must: To shun the woe which follows it, He soaks it in wine, and swallows it. 1827 O. W. ROBERTS Narr. Voy. Central Amer. 130 Indian corn, partly boiled and masticated [in preparing a drink called ‘mishlaw’]. 1872 T. H. HUXLEY Lessons Elem. Physiol. vi. 139 To these ends food is taken into the mouth and masticated. 1880 A. GÜNTHER Introd. Study of Fishes 119 Some fishes,..provided with broad molar-like teeth, masticate their food. 1929 E. BOWEN Joining Charles 32 Rachel and Elise had to remain..staring at the plates of the girls opposite, biting off and slowly masticating large mouthfuls of bread-and-jam. 1969 R. F. CHAPMAN Insects i. 13 In..Hydrophilus the antennae assist the mandibles in masticating the prey. 1983 Playboy Jan. 241/1 Playboy ran every response that it received..through a computer except those that were incomplete, illegible or masticated by the U.S. Mail. 1991 B. SEDGEMORE in Hansard's Parl. Deb. (BNC) Nov., Sterling looks set to be masticated by EMUs, ERMs and ECUs before being made fodder for..the Deutsches Bundesbank.

    b. trans. Christian Church. To consume (the consecrated host) at the Eucharist. Cf. MANDUCATE v. Obs. rare.

1651 C. CARTWRIGHT Certamen Religiosum I. 30 Except we eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his bloud, we have no life in us; him we must mastigate, and chew by faith.

    c. intr. To chew.

1935 Chambers's Encycl. III. 822/1 Many animals can hardly be said to masticate; such are the carnivora..and they are not provided with grinding teeth. 1965 E. J. HOWARD After Julius II. viii. 115 He would..subside into a trance-like stillness, unable even to masticate. 1992 Face Oct. 110/3, I made a wad out of the young leaves and twigs and tried to masticate slowly. It tasted like a privet hedge.

    2. trans. To plasticize (rubber) by crushing or kneading.

1847 C. HANCOCK Brit. Patent 11,874 (1855) 6, I effect the admixture by introducing the intended quantity..into a masticating machine, in which I have previously placed the gutta percha, and then proceed to masticate the contents of the machine until the materials are thoroughly incorporated. 1849 C. NICKELS in Repert. Patent Invent. (1850) XV. 226 The pieces of such india-rubber will admit of being kneaded or masticated. 1881 Times 18 Apr. 4/6 The gutta percha is not masticated in any way, Mr. T. holding that mastication utterly destroys the material. 1989 W. HOFMANN Rubber Technol. Handbk. ii. 25 If NR [sc. natural rubber] has been masticated only to a small degree, it can accept higher filler loadings.

    3. trans. Chiefly U.S. fig. and in fig. context. To consider or deliberate over; to ruminate on.

1927 Mississippi Valley Hist. Rev. 14 87 His vision and freshness of ideas furnish substance for the reason to masticate. 1945 Amer. Hist. Rev. 50 620 Sixty bulky volumes of documentation, much of it yet to be masticated and digested. 1988 M. BISHOP Unicorn Mountain (1989) xviii. 203 Libby's mind masticated this news without absorbing it. 1992 Grapevine 25-31 Mar. 6/2 Before convening a panel to masticate the issue, we felt we needed more perspective.

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    DERIVATIVES

    masticated adj.

1696 Philos. Trans. 1695-7 (Royal Soc.) 19 232 The Salival Glands of the Cheeks and Lips also contributing their Juices, do altogether joyn with the *Masticated Aliment. 1799 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 89 253 This middle space..becomes filled up with the masticated food. 1849 C. NICKELS in Repert. Patent Invent. (1850) XV. 227 The kneaded or masticated mass [of gutta-percha]..is to be subjected to pressure. 1994 A. THEROUX Primary Colors 165 The color redobtained from hematite pulverized with masticated salmon eggs.

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