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rat·i·fy

(rătə-fī′)

tr.v. rat·i·fied, rat·i·fy·ing, rat·i·fies

To approve and give formal sanction to; confirm: The Senate ratified the treaty.

[Middle English ratifien, from Old French ratifier, from Medieval Latin ratificāre : Latin ratus, fixed, past participle of rērī, to reckon, consider; see RATE¹ + Latin -ficāre, -fy.]

rat′i·fi·cation (-fĭ-kāshən) n.

rati·fi′er 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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