Thursday, October 25, 2012

delate

delate \dih-LEYT\, verb:

1. Chiefly Scot. To inform against; denounce or accuse.
2. Archaic. To relate; report: to delate an offense.

"I will delate you for a warlock to the Privy Council!" said Sir John. "I will send you to your master, the devil, with the help of a tar-barrel and a torch!"
-- Sir Walter Scott, "Wandering Willie's Tale," Selected Short Stories
What's more, if you persist in disobeying me, I'll have no choice but to delate you to His Excellency the Archbishop.
-- Andrew M. Greeley, The Priestly Sins

Delate stems from the Latin word dēlātus which is the past participle of dēferre meaning "to bring down," like the modern English word defer.

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