modulate

English

Etymology

    From Latin modulor (“to measure, regulate, modulate”) +‎ -ate (verb-forming suffix), from modulus (“measure”). Compare module, modulus. By surface analysis, modul(e) +‎ -ate.

    Pronunciation

    • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈmɒd͡ʒɪleɪt/, /ˈmɒd͡ʒəˌleɪt/
      • Audio (Southern England):(file)
    • (General American, dialects of Canada) IPA(key): /ˈmɑ.d͡ʒəˌleɪt/, /ˈmɑ.djuˌleɪt/
    • (Canada, dialects of the US) IPA(key): /ˈmɒd͡ʒɪˌleɪt/, /ˈmɒd͡ʒəˌleɪt/
    • (Australia) IPA(key): /ˈmɔd͡ʒəˌlæɪt/
    • (New Zealand) IPA(key): /ˈmɒd͡ʒəˌlæɪt/

    Verb

    modulate (third-person singular simple present modulates, present participle modulating, simple past and past participle modulated)

    1. (transitive) To regulate, adjust or adapt.
      1. (transitive) To change the pitch, intensity or tone of one's voice or of a musical instrument.
        • 1980 April 19, Andrea Loewenstein, “Random Lust”, in Gay Community News, page 10:
          "Can you tell?" she asked, in a trembling but well modulated and sensual voice.
      2. (transitive, electronics) To vary the amplitude, frequency or phase of a carrier wave in proportion to the amplitude etc of a source wave (such as speech or music).
      3. (intransitive, music) To move from one key or tonality to another, especially by using a chord progression.

    Derived terms

    Translations

    Further reading

    Esperanto

    Adverb

    modulate

    1. present adverbial passive participle of moduli

    Italian

    Etymology 1

    Verb

    modulate

    1. inflection of modulare:
      1. second-person plural present indicative
      2. second-person plural imperative

    Etymology 2

    Participle

    modulate f pl

    1. feminine plural of modulato

    Latin

    Participle

    modulāte

    1. vocative masculine singular of modulātus

    References

    • “modulate”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
    • “modulate”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
    • “modulate”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

    Spanish

    Verb

    modulate

    1. second-person singular voseo imperative of modular combined with te
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