Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1600-1700
Language: Latin
Origin: , past participle of permeare 'to go through'

permeate

 verb
     
per‧me‧ate
1 [intransitive always + adverb/preposition, transitive] if liquid, gas etc permeates something, it enters it and spreads through every part of it:
The smell of diesel oil permeated the air.
permeate through/into
Rain permeates through the ground to add to ground water levels.
2 [transitive] if ideas, beliefs, emotions etc permeate something, they are present in every part of it:
Racism continues to permeate our society.
An emotional intensity permeates every one of O'Connor's songs.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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