marinate

Definition

To allow a sauce or flavoring mixture to absorb into something; to steep or soak something in a marinade to flavor or prepare it for cooking.

Etymology

First attested in 1645; adapted from either French mariner or the earlier attested Italian marinare (“to pickle, marinate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from Late Latin marina (“brine, salt water”), short for aqua marina (“sea water”), from Latin marinus (“marine, of the sea”), from Latin mare (“the sea”) from Proto-Indo-European *móri (“the sea”).

Example Sentences

• "You'll get a better flavour from the chicken if you marinate it first."
• "After the chicken has marinated for two hours, discard the remaining marinade."
• "It's not a bad haircut! You just got to let it marinate!"

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