The Word of the Day

cerebrate \SAIR-uh-brayt\ verb : to use the mind : think

Example sentence: Jane is apt to cerebrate at length before making even minor decisions.

Did you know? When you think of the human brain, you probably think of the cerebrum, the large, fissured upper portion of the brain that is recognized as the neural control center for thought and sensory perception. In 1853, Dr. William Carpenter thought of the cerebrum when he coined "unconscious cerebration," a term describing the mental process by which people seem to do the right thing or come up with the right answer without conscious effort. People thought enough of Carpenter's coinage to use it as the basis of "cerebrate," though the verb refers to active thinking rather than subconscious processing. "Cerebrate," "cerebrum," and the related adjective "cerebral" all derive from the Latin word for "brain," which is "cerebrum."