Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Ruminate \Ru"mi*nate\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Ruminated}; p. pr. &
   vb. n. {Ruminating}.] [L. ruminatus, p. p. of ruminari,
   ruminare, fr. rumen, -inis, throat, akin to ructare to belch,
   erugere to belch out, Gr. ?, AS. roccettan.]
   1. To chew the cud; to chew again what has been slightly
      chewed and swallowed. ``Cattle free to ruminate.''
      --Wordsworth.

   2. Fig.: To think again and again; to muse; to meditate; to
      ponder; to reflect. --Cowper.

            Apart from the hope of the gospel, who is there that
            ruminates on the felicity of heaven?  --I. Taylor.

Ruminate \Ru"mi*nate\, v. t.
   1. To chew over again.

   2. Fig.: To meditate or ponder over; to muse on.

            Mad with desire, she ruminates her sin. --Dryden.

            What I know Is ruminated, plotted, and set down.
                                                  --Shak.

Ruminate \Ru"mi*nate\, Ruminated \Ru"mi*na`ted\, a. (Bot.)
   Having a hard albumen penetrated by irregular channels filled
   with softer matter, as the nutmeg and the seeds of the North
   American papaw.

Source : WordNet®

ruminate
     v 1: chew the cuds; "cows ruminate"
     2: reflect deeply on a subject; "I mulled over the events of
        the afternoon"; "philosophers have speculated on the
        question of God for thousands of years"; "The scientist
        must stop to observe and start to excogitate" [syn: {chew
        over}, {think over}, {meditate}, {ponder}, {excogitate}, {contemplate},
         {muse}, {reflect}, {mull}, {mull over}, {speculate}]