Vaccinate
/ˈvæk.sɪ.neɪt/noun
To administer a vaccine to stimulate immunity against a disease.
Did you know?Edward Jenner’s 1796 smallpox experiment used material from cowpox lesions, and the Latin word vaccinus—“of cows”—gave vaccination its name.
Etymological Timeline
Classical Latin
Latin
vacca
“Cow”
Classical Latin
Latin
vaccinus
“Of or belonging to cows”
1798
English
vaccine
“Cowpox material used to protect against smallpox, from Jenner’s work”
Early 19th Century
English
vaccination
“The act or process of inoculating with cowpox or a similar preventive substance”
19th Century
English
vaccinate
“To inoculate with vaccine”
Modern English
English
vaccinate
“To administer a vaccine to produce immunity”