elutriation

e·lu·tri·ate   (ĭ-lōō'trē-āt')    tr.v.   e·lu·tri·at·ed, e·lu·tri·at·ing, e·lu·tri·ates To purify, separate, or remove (ore, for example) by washing, decanting, and settling. To wash away the lighter or finer particles of (soil, for example). [Latin elutriāre, elutriāt- (from *elutrium, vat, bath, from Greek *elutrion, diminutive of elutron, cover, sheath, tank; see elytron) or ēlūtriāre (from *ēlūtor, one who washes, from ēluere, to wash out; see elute).] e·lu'tri·a'tion n.

Main Entry: elu·tri·a·tion
Pronunciation: E-"lü-trE-'A-sh&n
Function: noun
1 : the removal of substances from a mixtureby washing and decanting
2 : the separation of finer lighter particles from coarser heavier particles in a mixture by means of a usually slow upward stream of fluid so that thelighter particles are carried upward