Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A scaling off; the peeling off or separation of scales or laminæ, as from the cuticle, diseased bone, disintegrating rocks, etc.; desquamation.
  • noun That which is exfoliated or scaled off.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The scaling off of a bone, a rock, or a mineral, etc.; the state of being exfoliated.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The scaling off of a bone, a rock, or a mineral, etc.; the state of being exfoliated.
  • noun The loss of leaves from a plant.
  • noun The removal of a layer of skin, as in cosmetic preparation.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the peeling off in flakes or scales of bark or dead skin
  • noun a thin flake of dead epidermis shed from the surface of the skin

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin exfoliare (to remove leaves).

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