Apparate

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To magically and instantly change one's location from one place to another To teleport in a fictional context using supernatural abilities To undergo an instantaneous transformation in position using magical powers
2. To suddenly and magically move or transport oneself from one location to a distant one instantly
3. To disappear from one spot and reappear somewhere else at once by supernatural means

Etymology: The verb "apparate" is a modern invention from the Harry Potter novels, where it names the instant, magical movement from one place to another. J. K. Rowling built it on a much older word, "apparition," which has been used in English since the 1600s for a ghostly appearance. The word's deeper roots lie in Latin "apparere," meaning "to appear," and a Late Latin verb, "apparēre," carried a specific picture: a servant who came into view when summoned by a master. That sense of an attendant arriving on command is the root of the fictional idea of a figure instantly materializing where needed. Rowling used the language of the older "apparition" and gave it a new job. Where "apparition" describes something seen suddenly, "apparate" describes the traveler who vanishes from one spot and appears at another, so the word shifts from the look of the arrival to the act of arriving. The verb is therefore a back-formation, created by removing the ending from a noun and treating the remainder as a new verb.