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Decrepitate

[dih-krep-i-teyt]

verb (used with object)

to roast or calcine (salt, minerals, etc.) so as to cause crackling or until crackling ceases.

verb (used without object)

to break up when exposed to heat.

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Decrepitate is one of our favorite verbs.

So is lollygag. Does it mean:

to run away hurriedly; flee.

to spend time idly; loaf.

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Origin:
1640–50; < Neo-Latin dēcrepitātus crackled, past participle of dēcrepitāre, equivalent to Latin dē- de- + crepitāre to crackle (frequentative of crepāre to crack); see -ate¹

Related forms

de·crep·i·ta·tion, noun

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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World English Dictionary

decrepitate (dɪˈkrɛpɪˌteɪt)

—vb
1.	(tr) to heat (a substance, such as a salt) until it emits a crackling sound or until this sound stops
2.	(intr) (esp of a salt) to crackle, as while being heated

[C17: from New Latin dēcrepitāre, from Latin crepitāre to crackle, from crepāre to creak]

decrepi'tation

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Decrepitate

de·crep·i·tate