masticate

Etymology

From the past participle stem of post-Classical Latin masticō (“I chew”), from Ancient Greek μαστιχάω (mastikháō, “I grind the teeth”).

verb

1. (transitive) To chew (food).
   The cow stood, quietly masticating its cud.
   The fat boy rose, opened his eyes, swallowed the huge piece of pie he had been in the act of masticating when he last fell asleep, and slowly obeyed his master’s orders. 1832, Charles Dickens, chapter 4, in The Pickwick Papers
   "By tasting it, to be sure," said I, masticating a morsel that Kory-Kory had just put in my mouth. 1892, Herman Melville, chapter 12, in Typee: A Romance of the South Seas
   He resumed his meal. "I had no idea of it," he said, and masticated. 1896, H. G. Wells, chapter 8, in The Island of Dr. Moreau
   The vegetables were not to be cooked but merely grated fine, if I could not masticate them. 1927-1929, Mahatma Gandhi, translated by Mahadev Desai, An Autobiography or The Story of my Experiments with Truth, published 1940
   The friends watch the two make their way between other habitués masticating, drinking, crouched in a scrum of conversation[…] 2001, Nadine Gordimer, The Pickup
2. (transitive) To grind or knead something into a pulp.