decalcify

American  

[dee-kal-suh-fahy] / diˈkæl səˌfaɪ /

verb (used with object)

decalcified, decalcifying

1. to deprive of lime or calcareous matter, as a bone.

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verb (used without object)

decalcified, decalcifying

1. to become decalcified.

decalcify British  

/ diːˈkælsɪˌfaɪ /

verb

1. (tr) to remove calcium or lime from (bones, teeth, etc)

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Other Word Forms

• decalcification
  noun
• decalcifier
  noun
• nondecalcified
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of decalcify

First recorded in 1840–50; de- + calcify

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

decalcify decalcified

You’ll still need to decalcify your kettle from time to time, though the frequency depends on the hardness of your water.

From Slate ● Oct. 26, 2018

The muscles, no longer required to work against gravity, weaken dangerously, and at the same time bones begin to decalcify.

From Time Magazine Archive

The body parts deteriorated, and the skeletal remains decalcified.

From New York Times ● Apr. 10, 2012

He informs me that both presented the normal appearance of decalcified bone, with traces of the earthy salts occasionally left.

From Insectivorous Plants by Charles Darwin

Repeat the last experiment, using a cube of the decalcified bone obtained from Experiment 4.

From A Practical Physiology by Albert F. Blaisdell

Senn proposed decalcified bone-plates to be used to fill in the gaps.

From Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine by Walter L. (Walter Lytle) Pyle

Enamel and Dentine.—As the secretion decalcified ordinary bone, I determined to try whether it would act on enamel and dentine, but did not expect that it would succeed with so hard a substance as enamel.

From Insectivorous Plants by Charles Darwin

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