divaricate Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb branch off
    • The road divaricates here
  2. verb spread apart
    • divaricate one's fingers

WordNet

Di*var"i*cate intransitive verb
Etymology
L. divaricatus, p. p. of divaricare to stretch apart; di- = dis- + varicare to straddle, fr. varicus straddling, fr. varus stretched outwards.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Divaricated; present participle & verbal noun Divaricating
Definitions
  1. To part into two branches; to become bifid; to fork.
  2. To diverge; to be divaricate. Woodward.
Di*var"i*cate transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To divide into two branches; to cause to branch apart.
Di*var"i*cate adjective
Etymology
L. divaricatus, p. p.
Definitions
  1. Diverging; spreading asunder; widely diverging.
  2. (Biol.) Forking and diverging; widely diverging; as the branches of a tree, or as lines of sculpture, or color markings on animals, etc.

Webster 1913