gestate

 
Pronunciation: /dʒɛˈsteɪt/

verb

[no object]
  • carry a fetus in the womb from conception to birth: rabbits gestate for approximately twenty-eight days
  • (of a fetus) undergo gestation.
  • develop over a long period: a series that has been gestating for three years

Origin:

mid 19th century: from Latin gestat- 'carried in the womb', from the verb gestare