macerate

verb (used with object), mac·er·at·ed, mac·er·at·ing.

1. to soften or separate into parts by steeping in a liquid.
2. to soften or decompose (food) by the action of a solvent.
3. to cause to grow thin.

verb (used without object), mac·er·at·ed, mac·er·at·ing.

4. to undergo maceration.
5. to become thin or emaciated; waste away.

verb

1. to soften or separate or be softened or separated as a result of soaking
2. to break up or cause to break up by soakingmacerated peaches
3. to become or cause to become thin

v.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. v.

1. To make soft by soaking or steeping in a liquid.
2. To separate into constituents by soaking.

n.

1. A substance prepared or produced by macerating.