RU'MINATE, v.i. [L. rumino, from rumen, the cud.] 1. To chew the cud; to chew again what has been slightly chewed and swallowed. Oxen, sheep, deer, goats, camels, hares and squirrels ruminate in fact; other animals, as moles, bees, crickets, beetles, crabs, &c. only appear to ruminate.The only animals endowed with the genuine faculty of rumination, are the Ruminantia, or cloven-hoofed quadrupeds, but the hare, although its stomach is differently organized, is an occasional and partial ruminant.2. To muse; to meditate; to think again and again; to ponder. It is natural to ruminate on misfortunes.He practices a slow meditation, and ruminates on the subject.RU'MINATE, v.t. 1. To chew over again.2. To muse on; to meditate over and over again.Mad with desire, she ruminates her sin.
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