pullulate [ˈpʌlyəˌleɪt] v.i.
1.) To put forth sprouts or buds; germinate.
2.) To breed rapidly or abundantly.
3.) To teem; swarm (American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).
Etymology: from Latin pullulāt-, participle stem of pullulāre, to sprout out, spring forth, spread, grow, increase, from pullulus, diminutive of pullus, young of any animal, chick.
"I do not want to describe it; a chaos of heterogeneous words, the body of a tiger or a bull in which teeth, organs and heads monstrously pullulate in mutual conjunction and hatred can (perhaps) be approximate images" ("The Immortal" by Jorge Luis Borges in Labyrinths: Selected Stories & Other Writings, Donald A. Yates and James E. Irby (ed.), 1964).
(Hercule et l'Hydre de Lerne, Gustave Moreau, 1876)
5 comments:
Might come in handy some day.
I can so use this word!
I remember the hilarity during Latin classes when "pullulare" came up. I don't know why, but we all thought it was such a funny word. Maybe because of all of the l's. Not sure.
We don't seem to really have anything similar in Dutch (well there's "pululleren" which means "to appear plentifully" or something, but I don't think anyone's ever used it in the history of ever. I mean, I found it in a crossword puzzle-reference book. That says a lot.)
It has such a disgusting sound to it. I love it. Definitely something I can add to my vocabulary list as a writer.
I love this! I could only get close to pronouncing it right.
p.s: we "kids"? hahaha. I'm still laughing. :)
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