maceration

[mas-uh-rey-shuh n]

noun

the act or process of macerating.
a process in winemaking in which the crushed grape skins are left in the juice until they have imparted the desired color or the proper amount of tannins and aroma.

Origin of maceration

1485–95; < Latin mācerātiōn-, stem of mācerātiō; see macerate, -ion

Related formsself-mac·er·a·tion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

He prayed, fasted, went through a course of maceration of the body.
A History of the Reformation (Vol. 2 of 2)
Thomas M. Lindsay
Fleshy coverings of hard and bony seeds may be removed by maceration.
The Nursery Book
Liberty Hyde Bailey
The maceration of different portions of the skeleton is produced by water.
History of Embalming
J. N. Gannal
We obtained them in enormous abundance in a maceration of fish.
Scientific American Supplement, Vol. XIX, No. 470, Jan. 3, 1885
Various
For the production of the huile and pomade they are treated by maceration.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 643, April 28, 1888
Various

late 15c., from Latin macerationem (nominative maceratio), noun of action from past participle stem of macerare (see macerate).

maceration in Medicine

(măs′ə-rā′shən)

Softening by soaking in a liquid.
Softening of the tissues after death by autolysis, especially of a stillborn fetus.