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im·mo·late

(ĭmə-lāt′)

tr.v. im·mo·lat·ed, im·mo·lat·ing, im·mo·lates

1. To kill (an animal, for instance) as a religious sacrifice.

2. To kill, especially by fire: "[The soldiers] are crushed under rocks, pierced by bullets, immolated by flamethrowers" (A.O. Scott).

[Latin immolāre, immolāt-, to sacrifice, sprinkle with sacrificial meal : in-, on; see IN-² + mola, meal, millstone; see melə- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

im′mo·lation n.

immo·la′tor n.

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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