elaborate
verb
- go into detail
adjective
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L336375 on Wikidata ↗Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ɪˈlæb.(ə.)ɹət/ / /ɪˈlæb.ə.ɹeɪt/ / /ɪˈlæb.ə.ɹæɪt/ / /əˈlæb.ə.ɹæɪt/
adj
Etymology: 1575, from Late Latin ēlabōrātus (“worked out”), past participle of ēlabōrō (“to work out”), from ē- (“out, forth, fully”) + labor (“work, toil, exertion”). More at e-, labour.
- Complex, detailed, or sophisticated.
“After reading a long, elaborate description, I was impressed but no wiser.”
- Intricate, fancy, flashy, or showy.
“I stared for hours at the elaborate pattern in the rug.”
“The house was a big elaborate limestone affair, evidently new. Winter sunshine sparkled on lace-hung casement, on glass marquise, and the burnished bronze foliations of grille and door.”
verb
Etymology: 1575, from Late Latin ēlabōrātus (“worked out”), past participle of ēlabōrō (“to work out”), from ē- (“out, forth, fully”) + labor (“work, toil, exertion”). More at e-, labour.
- Тo develop in detail or complexity.
“[…] by the time of the subsequent coronation, when the Prussian king put the crown on his own head in child-like belief of the obsolete doctrine called divine right, the untiring statesman had elaborated his scheme of reform.”
“The notion of blood purity was first elaborated in Europe, where it was used to separate Old Christians from Spain’s New Christians—women and men of Jewish and Muslim origin whose ancestors had converted to Christianity.”
- To expand/enlarge in detail.
“What do you mean you didn't come home last night? Would you care to elaborate?”
“Could you elaborate on the plot for your novel for me?”