Hypertext Webster Gateway: "macerate"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Macerate \Mac"er*ate\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Macerated}; p. pr. &
vb. n. {Macerating}.] [L. maceratus, p. p. of macerare to
make soft, weaken, enervate; cf. Gr. ? to knead.]
1. To make lean; to cause to waste away. [Obs. or R.]
--Harvey.
2. To subdue the appetites of by poor and scanty diet; to
mortify. --Baker.
3. To soften by steeping in a liquid, with or without heat;
to wear away or separate the parts of by steeping; as, to
macerate animal or vegetable fiber.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
macerate
v 1: become soft or disintegrate as a result of excessive
soaking; "the tissue macerated in the water"
2: soften and cause to disintegrate as a result; "macerate
peaches"
3: cause to grow thin or weak; "The treatment emaciated him"
[syn: {waste}, {emaciate}]
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