Past tense of operate; to control the functioning of a machine or system, or to perform surgery. Can also mean to run a business or organization.
From Latin 'operatus', past participle of 'operari' meaning to work or labor, derived from 'opus' (work). The medical sense developed in the 17th century, while the mechanical sense emerged during the Industrial Revolution.
The word 'operate' beautifully captures humanity's relationship with both healing and technology. It's remarkable that the same verb describes a surgeon saving a life and an engineer controlling a machine - both requiring precision, skill, and the power to make something function properly.
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