macerate
[ mas-uh-reyt ]
/ ˈmæs əˌreɪt /
verb (used with object), mac·er·at·ed, mac·er·at·ing.
to soften or separate into parts by steeping in a liquid.
to soften or decompose (food) by the action of a solvent.
to cause to grow thin.
verb (used without object), mac·er·at·ed, mac·er·at·ing.
to undergo maceration.
to become thin or emaciated; waste away.
Nearby words
- macedonia,
- macedonian,
- maceió,
- macer,
- maceral,
- maceration,
- macewen's sign,
- macewen's triangle,
- macfarlane,
- macgillicuddy's reeks
Origin of macerate
SYNONYMS FOR macerate
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for macerate
macerate
/ (ˈmæsəˌreɪt) /
verb
to soften or separate or be softened or separated as a result of soaking
to break up or cause to break up by soakingmacerated peaches
to become or cause to become thin
Word Origin for macerate
C16: from Latin mācerāre to soften
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
macerate
late 15c., a back-formation from maceration or else from Latin maceratus, past participle of macerare "soften, make soft, soak, steep," related to maceria "garden wall," originally "of kneaded clay," from PIE *mak-ero-, suffixed form of root *mag- "to knead" (cf. Greek magis "kneaded mass, cake," mageus "one who kneads, baker;" Old Church Slavonic mazo "to anoint, smear;" Breton meza "to knead;" Middle Irish maistir "to churn"), also "to fashion, fit" (cf. make (v.)). Related: Macerated; macerating.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
macerate
[ măs′ə-rāt′ ]
v.
To make soft by soaking or steeping in a liquid.
To separate into constituents by soaking.
n.
A substance prepared or produced by macerating.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.