Word For The Day: TITIVATE

2000 Most Challenging and Obscure Words | June 1, 2016 | Norman Schur

[Louis Foxwell]

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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]

hear it pronounced

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.

[Robert DeLong]

Nothing gets by you, LOL.

[mountainlion]

Kids now days can not spell or write. You are going to leave them scratching their heads.

[fella]

I over an Arkansas redneck woman talking about Hitlery she was saying;

“That ‘ole sow just won’t titivate.”

[Jack Hammer]

Definitely titivating!

[Islander2]

Rosalin titivated when she uplifted her bra.

[NicknamedBob]

Efficiency in titivation should count for something:

Cleaning House

I’m glad I have a trailer,
That’s square in its aspect.
It makes the cleaning of the place,
So very much more direct!

When I’m through mopping on the floor,
I roll it on its side,
I clean the whole place in a flash!
Who needs a double-wide?

I catch the ceiling and the walls,
As quickly as the floor.
I clean the bedrooms and the halls,
The drain is my front door.

I’ve got my stuff all bolted down,
To keep it from migrating,
When social workers come to call,
I get the highest rating!

TrailerTrashBob . . . April 27, 2005

[Robert A Cook PE]

At work now, titilwait til later....

[SoothingDave]

“Nowadays.”

[Lazamataz]

I thought the word was Titi-Date.

I could use a Titi-Date.

[Louis Foxwell]

My busty gal dresses up nice, and she always titivates.

This is just wrong on so many levels. Nicely done bit of entendre, though. I give you an award for, well, nothing really.

[Louis Foxwell]

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.

Now that is a perfect tongue in cheek usage.

[Louis Foxwell]

Bill Kristol attempted to tittivate his intentions to recruit a third party candidate to run against Trump by offering up the unknown David French.Confusing, isn't it? Titivate and titillate are not the same word.

[Louis Foxwell]

Gilbert and Sullivan is a nice catch. The spelling is all over the map. As pointed out in the description one "t" or two is common. The word has been hopelessly bowdlerized. /s

Little known Facts

[Louis Foxwell]

AHA! An appeal to TRUTH. How arcane. Derivations are everything but, sometimes, of little consequence to the user. John is correct. Where TRUTH itself is open to debate there is no freedom.

As is typical you have achieved mastery in this class with the simplest of illustration.

[Louis Foxwell]

Ah. Well. I suppose it is hopeless, then.

[Louis Foxwell]

For my desserts, I titivate with dash of whip cream.

YES~! PERFECT!

And so should we all.

[moovova]

I am a weak man...but one that appreciates beauty.

[Louis Foxwell]

Why did no one ping me? Stop boobing. The word is TITIVATE. Not HITADATE. I need to titivate my new back porch with a railing.

By all means. Get on with it. Titivate your porch before a calamity ensues.

[left that other site]

I had memorized 4 G&S operettas by the time I was in the sixth grade.

My vocabulary was voluminous as a result! LOL! :-)

[Louis Foxwell]

If you don’t titivate the pageant mogul then he will not call you a Ten.

Now, Ben. The word is titivate, not titillate. Demonstrating, once again, the absolute ludicrity of this exercise. Why, it is akin to wrestling gators.