Word of the Day

: June 21, 2010

macerate

verb MASS-uh-rayt

What It Means

1 : to cause to waste away by or as if by excessive fasting

2 : to cause to become soft or separated into constituent elements by or as if by steeping in fluid; broadly : steep, soak

3 : to soften and wear away especially as a result of being wetted or steeped

macerate in Context

"Absinthe is made by macerating herbs and spices, including anise and fennel, with the grand wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) that gives the drink its name." (Julia Reed, Newsweek, April 12, 2010)

Did You Know?

"Macerate" is derived from the Latin verb "macerare," meaning "to soften" or "to steep." That meaning was borrowed into English in 1563. However, the first English use of "macerate" refers to the wasting away of flesh especially by fasting. That use manifested itself in 1547. A few other manifestations sprouted thereafter from the word's figurative branch (e.g., Laurence Sterne (1713-1768) once wrote of "a city so macerated with expectation"); however, those extensions wilted in time. Today, the "steeping" and "soaking" senses of "macerate" saturate culinary articles (as in "macerating fruit in liquor") as well as other writings (scientific ones, for instance: "the food is macerated in the gizzard" or "the wood is macerated in the solution").