indagate

verb

in·​da·​gate ˈin-də-ˌgāt 

indagated; indagating

transitive verb

: to search into : investigate

indagation

ˌin-də-ˈgā-shən 

noun

indagator

ˈin-də-ˌgā-tər 

noun

Did you know?

A close examination of "indagate" reveals that it's a rather uncommon word. If we delve into the past, we discover that it first appeared in an English dictionary in 1623. Probing further, we see that its synonym "investigate" was already a hundred years old at the time. Despite the fact that our search turns up the derivatives "indagation," "indagator," "indagatory," and "indagative," we see that none of these words was ever used as widely as "investigation," "investigator," "investigatory," and "investigative." If we hunt for the etymology of indagate, we sniff out the Latin verb indagare ("to track"), which often referred, as did Latin investigare, specifically to tracking done by hunting dogs.

Word History

Etymology

Latin indagatus, past participle of indagare, from indago ring of hunters encircling game, act of searching, from Old Latin indu in + Latin agere to drive — more at end-, agent

First Known Use

circa 1623, in the meaning defined above

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