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ex·tri·cate

(ĕkstrĭ-kāt′)

tr.v. ex·tri·cat·ed, ex·tri·cat·ing, ex·tri·cates

To release from an entanglement or difficulty; disengage.

[Latin extrīcāre, extrīcāt- : ex-, ex- + trīcae, hindrances, perplexities.]

extri·ca·ble (-kə-bəl) adj.

ex′tri·cation n.

Synonyms: extricate, disengage, disentangle, untangle
These verbs mean to free from something that entangles: extricated herself from an embarrassing situation; disengaged his attention from the television; sought to disentangle fact from fiction in the account; lawyers tasked with untangling the corporation's financial dealings.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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