dilute

Etymology

From Latin dīlūtus, from dīluere (“to wash away, dissolve, cause to melt, dilute”), from dī-, dis- (“away, apart”) + luere (“to wash”). See lave, and compare deluge.

verb

1. (transitive) To make thinner by adding solvent to a solution, especially by adding water.
   Mix their watery store / With the chyle's current, and dilute it more. 1712, Richard Blackmore, Creation: A Philosophical Poem
2. (transitive) To weaken, especially by adding a foreign substance.
   “Stay a little.” “Not another second: language and discussion dilute thought; I will say no more.” 1856, L. S. Lavenu, chapter XXXIII, in Erlesmere; or, Contrasts of Character, volume 1, London: Smith, Elder & Co., page 336
3. (transitive, stock market) To cause the value of individual shares or the stake of a shareholder to decrease by increasing the total number of shares.
4. (intransitive) To become attenuated, thin, or weak.
   It dilutes easily.

adj

1. Having a low concentration.
   Clean the panel with a dilute, neutral cleaner.
2. Weak; reduced in strength by dilution; diluted.
3. Of an animal: having a lighter-coloured coat than is usual.
   a dilute calico
   a cat with a dilute tortoiseshell coat

noun

1. An animal having a lighter-coloured coat than is usual.
   On average, blues and other dilutes have weaker coats and skin problems seem more prevalent in the dilutes. 2000, Joe Stahlkuppe, American Pit Bull Terrier Handbook, page 131