intercalate

UK/ɪnˈtɜː.kəl.eɪt/US/ɪnˈtɝ.kəˌleɪt/

intercalate verb: to insert an extra leap day into a calendar in order to maintain synchrony with natural phenomena.

Verb

intercalate (third-person singular simple present intercalates, present participle intercalating, simple past and past participle intercalated)

To insert an extra leap day into a calendar in order to maintain synchrony with natural phenomena.
- '[T]is wonderful where or when we ever got anything of this which we call wisdom, poetry, virtue. We never got it on any dated calendar day. Some heavenly days must have been intercalated somewhere.1844, Ralph Waldo Emerson, chapter 2, in Essays: Second Series
- At some unknown period, the five days, known to the present time by the names of the five Gathic hymns of Zarathushtra, were intercalated at the end of the twelfth month, to complete the three hundred and sixty-five days of the solar year.1922, Maneckji Nusservanji Dhalla, Zoroastrian Civilization, page 172
To insert an extra month into a calendar for the same purpose, such as for the Hebrew calendar.
- The Sages once overheard three shepherds discussing what weather is characteristic of Adar, and if that weather does not occur, it is not really Adar. As a result, the Sages intercalated the year and added Adar II.2024, David Golinkin, “What Is The Purpose And History Of Adar II”, in Responsa in a Moment, volume 4, page 85
(molecular biology) To insert a substance between two or more molecules, bases, cells, or tissues.
To insert anything somewhere (especially between other things), such as an affix into a word. (Compare interpolate.)
- ... the personal pronouns which form the terminations of the verb, or by an intercalated suffix, the nature and relation of its objects and its subject , and to distinguish whether the object be animate or inanimate, ...1828, The British Critic, Quarterly Theological Review, and Ecclesiastical Record, page 56
- Sometimes f or s is intercalated to lighten the pronunciation : kommen, Kunft ; können, Kunst ; […]1894, William Winston Valentine, Phonology and morphology, page 361

Noun

intercalate (plural intercalates)

(attributive, often) An atom or molecule, or a substance, that enters between the layers of the crystal lattice of another substance, especially that of graphite.
- Entry of intercalate molecules from the edge of basal planes of crystallites must be kept sufficiently slow to mitigate mechanical strains..before the intercalate has spread uniformly through any layer.1968, Proceedings of the Royal Society, series A, volume 304. 26
A compound formed by foreign atoms or molecules entering between the layers of a crystal lattice, especially that of graphite.

intercalate meaning in Tamil

intercalate in Tamil

இடையில் செருகு, இணை

Examples of intercalate in a sentence

Is the -er- […] intercalated for rhythmic of differentiatory purposes?1969, Romance Philology, volume 23, page 298:
The intercalated letters are intended to be the first ten letters of the alphabet as in line 602ff.1971, Moses Gaster, Studies and Texts in Folklore, Magic, Mediaeval Romance, Hebrew Apocrypha, and Samaritan Archaeology, KTAV Publishing...

Forms of intercalate

Verb
third-person singular present	intercalates
present participle	intercalating
past participle	intercalated
past	intercalated
Noun
plural	intercalates

Origin of intercalate

The verb is first attested in 1614, the noun in 1964; borrowed from Latin intercalātus, perfect passive participle of intercalō (“to proclaim that a day, an event, etc. has been intercalated; to insert”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (noun-forming suffix)), from inter- (“between, among”) + calō (“to call; to proclaim”).

Words formed from intercalate

Words that rhyme with intercalate

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about intercalate

What does intercalate mean?: Intercalate means to insert an extra leap day into a calendar in order to maintain synchrony with natural phenomena.
What is intercalate in Tamil?: Intercalate in Tamil is இடையில் செருகு, இணை. See Intercalate meaning in Tamil.
How do you use intercalate in a sentence?: Is the -er- […] intercalated for rhythmic of differentiatory purposes?
What part of speech is intercalate?: Intercalate can be a verb or a noun.
How do you pronounce intercalate?: Intercalate is pronounced /ɪnˈtɜː.kəl.eɪt/ (UK).
What is the past tense of intercalate?: The past tense of intercalate is intercalated.

Words near intercalate in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: intercalate (page history and authors); intercalate (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this entry: “intercalate.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/intercalate. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.