Third person singular present tense of 'gestate'; develops or grows over time, especially in pregnancy or as an idea develops.
From Latin gestatus (carried), related to gestare (to carry, to bear). The verb form emerged in English in the 17th century, borrowed from medical and biological terminology.
When a fetus gestates for exactly 40 weeks, it's actually a statistical average—some babies gestate for 38 weeks and are perfectly healthy, but we keep the '40 weeks' because it's easier to remember.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.