macerate : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: macerate	by the DICT Development Group
2 results for macerate
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
macerate v separate into constituents by soaking become soft or separate and disintegrate as a result of excessive soaking; "the tissue macerated in the water" soften, usually by steeping in liquid, and cause to disintegrate as a result; "macerate peaches"; "the gizzards macerates the food in the digestive system" cause to grow thin or weak; "The treatment emaciated him" Synonym(s): waste, emaciate, macerate
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Macerate \Mac"erate\, 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.