maceration

mac·er·ate   (mās'ə-rāt')    v.   mac·er·at·ed, mac·er·at·ing, mac·er·ates v.   tr. To make soft by soaking or steeping in a liquid. To separate into constituents by soaking. To cause to become lean, usually by starvation; emaciate. v.   intr. To become soft or separated into constituents by soaking: "His winemaker allowed the juice and skins of the white grapes to macerate together overnight before pressing" (Gerald Asher). n.   (-ĭt) A substance prepared or produced by macerating. [Latin mācerāre, mācerāt-; see mag- in Indo-European roots.] mac'er·a'tion n., mac'er·a'tor, mac'er·at'er n.

Main Entry: mac·er·a·tion
Pronunciation: "mas-&-'rA-sh&n
Function: noun
1 : an act or the process of maceratingsomething; especially : the extraction of a drug by allowing it to stand in contact with a solvent
2 : the condition of being macerated maceration>

maceration mac·er·a·tion (mās'ə-rā'shən)
n.

1. Softening by soaking in a liquid.

2. Softening of the tissues after death by autolysis, especially of a stillborn fetus.