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When you think of the human brain, you might think of the cerebrum, the large, fissured upper portion of the brain that is recognized as the neural control center for thought and sensory perception. In 1853, Dr. William Carpenter thought of the cerebrum when he coined "unconscious cerebration," a term describing the mental process by which people seem to do the right thing or come up with the right answer without conscious effort. People thought enough of Carpenter's coinage to use it as the basis of cerebrate, though the verb refers to active thinking rather than subconscious processing. Cerebrate, cerebrum, and the related adjective cerebral all derive from the Latin word for "brain," which is cerebrum.
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“Cerebrate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cerebrate. Accessed 25 Jun. 2026.
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