;Posted on 05/31/2016 6:39:03 PM PDT by Louis Foxwell
;In order that we might all raise the level of discourse and expand our language abilities, here is the daily post of "Word for the Day".
Titivate
[TIT uh vate]
verb
Titivate is colloquial for "spruce up, smarten up, put on the finishing touches"; sometimes written Tittivate.
Titivateis an earlier form, given rise, despite its initial short i, to a supposed derivation from tidy, plus the -vate from elevate, resulting in tidy up, or the -vate from cultivate, according to some authorities.
Somehow all this seems unlikely. A wholly distinct meaning, "titillate," which comes fro Latin titilatus, must have been the result of confusion, a powerful influence in etymology.
In any event, do not confuse titivate with titubate meaning "to stumble, or stagger, or totter," from Latin titubare (to stagger)whose noun is titubation, a medical term for unsteadiness, especially when caused by a nervous disease.
There is another tit word that has to do with the way one moves: tittup , that means, as a noun, "moving in an exaggerated bouncy way," like a frisky horse, and, as a verb, to move in that way, supposedly derived, via tit (a dialectical term for "twitch"), from Middle English tittle, plus -up, taken from the op of gallop.
Maybe.
In any case, all these tit words have nothing to do with the tit or titty that means "teat," or the tit you get for tat if you are lucky.
My busty gal dresses up nice, and she always titivates.
Find your favorite and demonstrate your literary prowess. Acknowledgements in the AM, as ever.
Why did no one ping me?
Megyn Kelly agrees with The Donald; it’s time to TITIVATE the most productive qualities of his campaign and to discard what’s not working.
Bill Kristol attempted to tittivate his intentions to recruit a third party candidate to run against Trump by offering up the unknown David French.
OH DEAR! I was certain you are on my list. I will double check and be sure to add your worthy nom de guerre to our little list.
Sorry for my failure. Allow me to compensate by acknowledging my personal appreciation of your interest. And, do, feel free to add your comments to our daily efforts.
“Spend an hour in tittivating
For the Gentlemen in waiting
Then we run on little errands for the ministers of state”
(From “The Troubles of a King, Act 2 of the Gondoliers by Gilbert and Sullivan”
John 8:32.
The “howjsay.com” website wouldn’t pronounce “titivate”. However, it did offer up “tittivated” as an alternative, with a pair of “tt’s”.
I’ve always said, there’s nothing wrong with a nice pair of tt’s.
Yep. John 8:32 it is.
And it is the Truth.
For my desserts, I titivate with dash of whip cream.
Stop boobing. The word is TITIVATE. Not HITADATE.
I need to titivate my new back porch with a railing.
If you don’t titivate the pageant mogul then he will not call you a Ten.
If you don’t titivate the pageant mogul then he will not call you a Ten.
Barry is always on Reggie’s case to ‘Titvate’ more often when they get all bath house busy.
It’s titivate, not hititvate.
My dad who was in the Navy would say after dinner, “Girls, titivate the galley.”
I love my dad. He also referred to the water cistern on my counter as the “scuttlebutt.”
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