Definition of "educate" []

• To develop the innate capacities of, especially by schooling or instruction. See Synonyms at teach. (verb-transitive)
• To provide with knowledge or training in a particular area or for a particular purpose: decided to educate herself in foreign languages; entered a seminary to be educated for the priesthood. (verb-transitive)
• To provide with information; inform: a campaign that educated the public about the dangers of smoking. (verb-transitive)
• To bring to an understanding or acceptance: hoped to educate the voters to the need for increased spending on public schools. (verb-transitive)
• To stimulate or develop the mental or moral growth of. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The word "educate" derives from the Latin educare, understood as "to bring forth, to draw out, to support"."
• "Learning about the women who sacrificed so much to give me the right to vote, to work, to lead, to educate is humbling."
• "(In fact our current educational system defies the very word education, because - as Russell Bishop once pointed out to me - educate comes from the Latin meaning "to draw out of," which is the Socratic style of teaching, not "to put into," which is the didactic style of teaching inflicted by our school system.)"