Digest
/daɪˈdʒɛst/noun
To break down food in the body so it can be absorbed, or to organize and summarize information.
Did you know?Digest shares its root with words like gesture and suggest, all from Latin gerere, because the same ancient idea of “carrying” grew into acting, bearing, and even breaking things down.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ǵʰer-
“to carry, bear”
Latin
Latin
gerere
“to carry, bear, manage, perform”
Latin
Latin
digestus
“carried apart, distributed; arranged”
Old French
Old French
digest
“arranged, digested; a legal summary”
Middle English
English
digesten
“to arrange, distribute, or assimilate food”
Modern English
English
digest
“to break down food or mentally absorb and organize information”