All 3 Uses of
dilate
in
Song of Myself
- I chant the chant of dilation or pride,
We have had ducking and deprecating about enough,
I show that size is only development.†*dilation = widening
- His nostrils dilate as my heels embrace him,
His well-built limbs tremble with pleasure as we race around and return.†
- I dilate you with tremendous breath, I buoy you up,
Every room of the house do I fill with an arm'd force,
Lovers of me, bafflers of graves.†
Definitions:
-
(1)
(dilate as in: dilated eyes) become wider (bigger)
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Much more rarely, dilate can mean to add details, as to an account or idea; clarify the meaning of and discourse in a learned way, usually in writing.