variolate
Definition
Verb (transitive):
- To inoculate with smallpox: "variolate" means to introduce the smallpox virus into a person's body, typically through a deliberate process, to induce a mild form of the disease and produce immunity. This historical medical practice preceded modern vaccination.
Related Adjective (less common):
- Pertaining to smallpox: "variolate" can describe something related to or characteristic of smallpox (variola).
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- In the 18th century, doctors variolated patients by scratching dried smallpox scabs into their skin. (They inoculated them with smallpox material.)
- Lady Montagu introduced the practice of variolating her children in England. (She had them inoculated against smallpox.)
Advanced Usage
"to be variolated": to have undergone the inoculation procedure.
- Many survivors of variolation still bore scars from the process. (They had been inoculated and showed marks.)
"variolated matter": the infectious material (pus or scabs) used in variolation.
- The physician carefully prepared variolated matter from a mild case. (He extracted material from a smallpox pustule.)
Variants and Related Words
Variolation (noun): the act or process of inoculating someone with smallpox.
- Variolation was a risky but effective method before Edward Jenner introduced vaccination. (The procedure had a mortality rate of about 1–2%.)
Variola (noun): the medical term for smallpox.
- Variola major was the severe form of the disease. (The virus caused high fever and pustules.)
Synonyms
- Inoculate: to introduce a vaccine or infectious agent into the body to produce immunity.
- Vaccinate (distinct): to inoculate with a weakened or killed virus (like cowpox), as opposed to variolation with live smallpox virus.
Related Idioms
- "to variolate against": (archaic) to immunize by variolation.
- She variolated her children against smallpox before the epidemic. (She inoculated them as a preventive measure.)
Historical Note
- Variolation was practiced in Asia and Africa for centuries before being introduced to Europe in the early 1700s. The term "variolate" derives from "variola," the Latin name for smallpox, and reflects the specific method of using live smallpox material — a riskier predecessor to modern vaccination.