Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Inoculate \In*oc"u*late\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Inoculated}; p.
pr. & vb. n. {Inoculating},.] [L. inoculatus, p. p. of
inoculare to ingraft; pref. in- in,on + oculare to furnish
with eyes, fr. oculus an eye, also, a bud. See {Ocular}.]
1. To bud; to insert, or graft, as the bud of a tree or plant
in another tree or plant.
2. To insert a foreign bud into; as, to inoculate a tree.
3. (Med.) To communicate a disease to ( a person ) by
inserting infectious matter in the skin or flesh; as, to
inoculate a person with the virus of smallpox,rabies, etc.
See {Vaccinate}.
4. Fig.: To introduce into the mind; -- used especially of
harmful ideas or principles; to imbue; as, to inoculate
one with treason or infidelity.
Source : WordNet®
inoculating
n : the act of protecting against disease by introducing a
vaccine into the body to induce immunity; "doctors
examined the recruits but nurses did the innoculating"
[syn: {vaccinating}]