Link Centre Dictionary

bifurcate

bi·fur·cate

UK/baɪˈfɛːkɪt/ US/baɪˈfɛːkeɪt/ uncommon
adjective (1) verb (2)

adjective

1.

resembling a fork; divided or separated into two branches

  • “the biramous appendages of an arthropod”
  • “long branched hairs on its legson which pollen collects”
  • “a forked river”
  • “a forked tail”
  • “forked lightning”
  • “horseradish grown in poor soil may develop prongy roots”
Synonyms
Similar

verb

1.

split or divide into two

2.

divide into two branches

  • “The road bifurcated”

Origin

Learned borrowing from Medieval Latin bifurcātus. Surface Analysis bi- + furcate.

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.