emaciate
UK[ɪˈmeɪ.si.eɪt]US[ɪˈmeɪ.ʃi.eɪt]
v
to make someone or something extremely thin and weak, especially because of illness or lack of food
v
(intransitive) to become extremely thin and weak
Morpheme Breakdown
e
maci
ate
e
out
maci
thin
ate
verb suffix
Etymology
the word 'emaciate' originates from the latin verb 'emaciare', which itself is built from the prefix 'e-' (a variant of 'ex-', meaning 'out') and the root 'maciēs', meaning 'leanness' or 'thinness'. the core concept is of being 'made lean' or 'wasted away'. this latin root 'maciēs' is likely related to the proto-indo-european root 'mek-', which conveyed notions of being long and thin. the english verb, formed with the causative suffix '-ate', entered the language in the 17th century, carrying the literal sense of causing a body to become thin or to waste away, a meaning it retains today.
Analysis
Structure: e (out) + maci (thin) + ate (verb suffix)
e- (prefix, latin origin, meaning 'out of, thoroughly'); maci- (root, latin origin, from 'maciēs' meaning 'leanness, thinness'); -ate (suffix, latin origin, forming verbs meaning 'to make or become').
Examples
the prolonged famine served to emaciate the population.
she became emaciated after her long illness.
the goal of the treatment is to nourish, not to emaciate, the patient.