˜yĞÄvlog

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bifurcate

[ verb adjective bahy-fer-keyt, bahy-fur-keyt; adjective bahy-fer-kit, bahy-fur- ]

verb (used with or without object)

bifurcated, bifurcating.
  1. to divide or fork into two branches.


adjective

  1. divided into two branches.

bifurcate

verb

  1. to fork or divide into two parts or branches
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged†2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adjective

  1. forked or divided into two sections or branches
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged†2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

bifurcate

/ ²úī′fÉ™r-kÄt′,²úÄ«-fûr′- /

  1. Forked or divided into two parts or branches, as the Y-shaped styles of certain flowers or the tongues of snakes.
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Derived Forms

  • ËŒ²ú¾±´Ú³Ü°ùˈ³¦²¹³Ù¾±´Ç²Ô, noun
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Other ˜yĞÄvlog Forms

  • ²ú¾±Â·´Ú³Ü°ù·³¦²¹³Ù±ğ·±ô²â [bahy-fer-, keyt, -lee, bahy-, fur, -keyt-lee, -kit-], adverb
  • ²ú¾±Â·´Ú³Ü°ù·³¦²¹Â·³Ù¾±´Ç²Ô [bahy-fer-, key, -sh, uh, n], noun
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˜yĞÄvlog History and Origins

Origin of bifurcate1

First recorded in 1605–15; from Medieval Latin ²ú¾±´Ú³Ü°ù³¦Äå³Ù³Ü²õ “forked in two,†past participle of ²ú¾±´Ú³Ü°ù³¦Äå°ù±ğ “to fork in two,†from bi- bi- 1( def ) + furc(a) fork ( def ) + -Äå°ù±ğ, infinitive verb suffix
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˜yĞÄvlog History and Origins

Origin of bifurcate1

C17: from Medieval Latin ²ú¾±´Ú³Ü°ù³¦Äå³Ù³Ü²õ , from Latin bifurcus , from bi- 1+ furca fork
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

They had the divorce bifurcated, separating the marriage itself from other contentious issues in the split such as child custody and splitting of assets, and were declared legally single in 2019.

From

Health workers use a so-called bifurcated needle that’s dipped into the vaccine solution, the same way the smallpox vaccine was administered.

From

Open’s crowd was clearly bifurcated into tennis devotees and society seekers, relatively everyone was on the same page when it came to engagement.

From

One result of the Fed’s higher rates has been a kind of bifurcated economy, by age.

From

“It’s this network where branches are bifurcating but also merging back together to create new species.â€

From

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More About Bifurcate

What doesÌıbifurcate mean?

Birfurcate means to divide or fork into two branches.

Things can bifurcate on their own or in an otherwise passive way, as in That’s where the river bifurcates into two branches, or they can be bifurcated by someone, as in We bifurcated the road into two lanes so more people could exit at once.Ìı

The word bifurcate can be used as an adjective meaning divided into two branches, but the adjective bifurcated is more commonly used in this way. The word bifurcation refers to the act of bifurcating or something that is bifurcated. These terms are most often used in technical and scientific contexts, such as engineering and medicine.

Example: The hiking trail bifurcates about three miles in, so make sure you go down the left branch.

Where doesÌıbifurcate come from?

The first records of bifurcate come from the early 1600s. It comes from the Medieval Latin ²ú¾±´Ú³Ü°ù³¦Äå³Ù³Ü²õ, formed from the prefix bi-, meaning “two,†and the root furc(a), meaning “fork†(as in a fork in the road or a river).

In normal conversation, you’d say that a road or a river forks, not that it bifurcates, unless you were being technical about it. Bifurcate is used in many contexts in which structures are discussed in technical or scientific terms. Bifurcations can be found throughout nature in things like Y-shaped flowers, the tongues of snakes, even parts of the human body that fork into different channels, such as the arteries of the heart.

Bifurcate can also be used in the context of entities like organizations or governments that are split into different parts or factions. In golf, bifurcation refers to the proposal to have different equipment for professional and amateur players.

Things don’t always fork exactly in two—they can also trifurcate or furcate into multiple branches.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to bifurcate?

  • bifurcated (past tense verb, adjective)
  • bifurcation (noun)

What are some synonyms for bifurcate?

What are some words that share a root or word element with bifurcate?Ìı

Ìı

What are some words that often get used in discussing bifurcate?

How isÌıbifurcate used in real life?

Bifurcate is usually used in technical or scientific contexts, especially biology, medicine, and engineering.

Ìı

Ìı

Try usingÌıbifurcate!

Which of the following things is likely to bifurcate?

A. a tree limb
B. an artery
C. a river
D. all of the above

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