Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To connect in a series of ties or links; form into a chain.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Having the structure or appearance of a chain: applied in zoölogy to impressed lines which are broken at regular intervals, to double striæ connected by numerous short lines, etc.
  • To chain, or connect in a series of links or ties; concatenate.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To connect, in a series of links or ties; to chain.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb To connect things together, especially to form a chain.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb arrange in a series of rings or chains, as for spores

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin catēnāre, catēnāt-, from catēna, chain.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin catenatus ("chained"), from catēnāre, from catēna ("chain").

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Examples

  • I've met catenate, hyaline, and fecundate, just not often.

    Making Light: Open thread 136 2010

  • Catenate is used in the phrase "catenate archipelago."

    Making Light: Open thread 136 2010

  • "Catena" means "chain" a catenary arc is the shape that a freely hanging chain forms when fixed at each end so I'd guess that "catenate" is either to do with catenaries or with chains.

    Making Light: Open thread 136 2010

  • Catenulate: like catenate; but the links are smaller.

    Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology John. B. Smith

  • When a young lady begins to learn music, she voluntarily applies herself to the characters of her music-book, and by many repetitions endeavours to catenate them with the proportions of sound, of which they are symbols.

    Zoonomia, Vol. I Or, the Laws of Organic Life Erasmus Darwin 1766

  • The second time it says that the file name is too long and asks if you want to catenate (shorten) it even if it is the same file you have already burned that didn't ask for this shortening of the file name before.

    LinuxQuestions.org 2010

  • The second time it says that the file name is too long and asks if you want to catenate (shorten) it even if it is the same file you have already burned that didn't ask for this shortening of the file name before.

    LinuxQuestions.org 2010

  • The majority of hydrocarbons found naturally occur in crude oil, where decomposed organic matter provides an abundance of carbon and hydrogen which, when bonded, can catenate to form seemingly limitless chains.

    PhysOrg.com - latest science and technology news stories 2009

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