Other forms: operated, operating, operates
To operate is to work a machine, or to carry out surgery. Operate the crane, operate on the patient, operate a service.
The surgical sense takes on and the machine sense takes a direct object, which keeps them apart. A company operates a service, meaning it runs it. Note that the Latin operari means to work, from opus, a work — the same root as opera and cooperate.
1verboperateTo work a machine or run a service.
“Only trained staff are allowed to operate the forklift in the warehouse.”
2verbcarryTo carry out surgery.
“The surgeon will operate on her heart tomorrow morning.”
Too few real examples of this word to estimate which sense is commonest.
operate is a working.
Latin operari means to work, from opus, a work. Opera, cooperate and office come from the same working.
Proto-Indo-European
*h₃ep-
Latin
operātus
English, today
operate
Built from
From Latin operātus. From Latin operātus, perfect passive participle of operor (“to work, labor, toil, have effect”), see -ate.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA