Word of the Day

: January 11, 2018

placate

verb PLAY-kayt

What It Means

: to soothe or mollify especially by concessions : appease

placate in Context

"Laughlin can placate even the most skittish of horses, coaxing them into his trailer with sugar cubes…." — Lizzie Johnson, The San Francisco Chronicle, 7 Dec. 2017

"While reviews from riders have been generally positive, there have been complaints about boats running late and being so full that they leave people behind. City officials said they hope to placate riders by next summer with a bigger fleet." — Patrick McGeehan, The New York Times, 29 Nov. 2017

Did You Know?

The earliest documented uses of the verb placate in English date from the late 17th century. The word is derived from Latin placatus, the past participle of placare, and placate still carries the basic meaning of its Latin ancestor: "to soothe" or "to appease." Other placare descendants in English are implacable (meaning "not easily soothed or satisfied") and placation ("the act of soothing or appeasing"). Even please itself, derived from Latin placēre ("to please"), is a distant relative of placate.