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Definition of peel - 20 dictionary results

peel

1[peel]
–verb (used with object)
1. to strip (something) of its skin, rind, bark, etc.: to peel an orange.
2. to strip (the skin, rind, bark, paint, etc.) from something: to peel paint from a car.
3. Croquet. to cause (another player's ball) to go through a wicket.
–verb (used without object)
4. (of skin, bark, paint, etc.) to come off; become separated.
5. to lose the skin, rind, bark, paint, etc.
6. Informal. to undress.
7. Metallurgy. (of a malleable iron casting) to lose, or tend to lose, the outer layer.
–noun
8. the skin or rind of a fruit, vegetable, etc.
9. Metallurgy. the presence of a brittle outer layer on a malleable iron casting.
10. peel off,
a. to remove (the skin, bark, etc.) or be removed: The old skin peeled off.
b. Aeronautics. to leave a flying formation of aircraft with a banking turn, usually from one end of an echelon.
c. Informal. to turn off or leave (a road): We peeled off the highway onto a dirt road.
d. to remove (clothing) in a swift upward or downward motion.
11. keep one's eyes peeled, Informal. to watch closely or carefully; be alert: Keep your eyes peeled for a gas station.

Origin:
bef. 1100; ME pelen, OE pilian to strip, skin < L pilāre to remove hair, deriv. of pilus hair. See pill 2


peel⋅a⋅ble, adjective


1. Peel, pare agree in meaning to remove the skin or rind from something. Peel means to pull or strip off the natural external covering or protection of something: to peel an orange, a potato. Pare is used of trimming off chips, flakes, or superficial parts from something, as well as of cutting off the skin or rind: to pare the nails; to pare a potato.

peel

2[peel]
–noun
1. a shovellike implement for putting bread, pies, etc., into the oven or taking them out.
2. Metallurgy. a long, shovellike iron tool for charging an open-hearth furnace.

Origin:
1350–1400; ME pele < MF < L pāla spade. See palette

peel

3[peel]
–noun
a small fortified tower for residence or for use during an attack, common in the border counties of England and Scotland in the 16th century.
Also, pele.


Origin:
1250–1300; ME pele fortress < AF pel stockade, MF pel stake < L pālus stake. See pale 2

Peel

[peel]
–noun
1. Sir Robert, 1788–1850, British political leader: founder of the London constabulary; prime minister 1834–35; 1841–46.
2. a seaport on W Isle of Man: castle; resort. 3295.
3. a river in N Yukon Territory and NW Northwest Territories, Canada, flowing E and N to the Mackenzie River. 425 mi. (684 km) long.
peel 1   (pēl)   
n.  
  1. The skin or rind of certain fruits and vegetables.
  2. A chemical peel.
v.   peeled, peel·ing, peels

v.   tr.
  1. To strip or cut away the skin, rind, or bark from; pare.
  2. To strip away; pull off: peeled the label from the jar.
v.   intr.
  1. To lose or shed skin, bark, or other covering.
  2. To come off in thin strips or pieces, as bark, skin, or paint: Her sunburned skin began to peel.
  3. Slang To remove one's clothes; undress.
Phrasal Verb(s):
peel off
  1. To leave flight formation in order to land or make a dive. Used of an aircraft.
  2. To leave or depart.

[From Middle English pilen, pelen, to peel, from Old French peler, and Old English pilian (both from Latin pilāre, to deprive of hair, from pilus, hair) and from Old French pillier, to tug, pull, plunder (from Latin pilleum, felt cap).]
peel 2   (pēl)   
n.  
  1. A long-handled, shovellike tool used by bakers to move bread or pastries into and out of an oven.
  2. Printing A T-shaped pole used for hanging up freshly printed sheets of paper to dry.

[Middle English, from Old French pele, from Latin pāla, spade, peel; see pag- in Indo-European roots.]
peel 3   (pēl)   
n.  A fortified house or tower of a kind constructed in the borderland of Scotland and England in the 16th century.

[Middle English pel, stake, small castle, from Anglo-Norman, stockade, variant of Old French, stake, from Latin pālus; see pag- in Indo-European roots.]
Peel   (pēl)   
British politician. As home secretary (1822-1827 and 1828-1830) he established the London police force (1829) and helped pass the Catholic Emancipation Act (1829). He later served as prime minister (1834-1835 and 1841-1846).
Main Entry:  peel
Part of Speech:  n
Definition:  See baker's peel
Language Translation for : peel
Spanish: pelar,
German: schälen,
Japanese: 皮をむく

Peel

Peel\, n. [OE. pel. Cf. Pile a heap.] A small tower, fort, or castle; a keep. [Scot.]

Peel

Peel\, n. [F. pelle, L. pala.] A spadelike implement, variously used, as for removing loaves of bread from a baker's oven; also, a T-shaped implement used by printers and bookbinders for hanging wet sheets of paper on lines or poles to dry. Also, the blade of an oar.

Peel

Peel\, v. t. [Confused with peel to strip, but fr. F. piller to pillage. See Pill to rob, Pillage.] To plunder; to pillage; to rob. [Obs.]

But govern ill the nations under yoke, Peeling their provinces. --Milton.

Peel

Peel\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Peeled; p. pr. & vb. n. Peeling.] [F. peler to pull out the hair, to strip, to peel, fr. L. pilare to deprive of hair, fr. pilus a hair; or perh. partly fr. F. peler to peel off the skin, perh. fr. L. pellis skin (cf. Fell skin). Cf. Peruke.]

1. To strip off the skin, bark, or rind of; to strip by drawing or tearing off the skin, bark, husks, etc.; to flay; to decorticate; as, to peel an orange.

The skillful shepherd peeled me certain wands. --Shak.

2. To strip or tear off; to remove by stripping, as the skin of an animal, the bark of a tree, etc.

Peel

Peel\, v. i. To lose the skin, bark, or rind; to come off, as the skin, bark, or rind does; -- often used with an adverb; as, the bark peels easily or readily.

Peel

Peel\, n. The skin or rind; as, the peel of an orange.

peel  (v.)
"to strip off," developed from O.E. pilian "to peel," and O.Fr. pillier, both from L. pilare "to strip of hair," from pilus "hair." Probably also infl. by L. pellis "skin, hide." The noun is 1583, from earlier pill, pile (1388), from the verb.

Main Entry: 1peel
Pronunciation: 'pEl
Function: transitive verb
1 : to strip off an outer layer of
2 : to remove (asskin or a blemish) by stripping peel intransitive senses
1 : to come off in sheets or scales peels>
2 : tolose an outer layer (as of skin) peeling>

Main Entry: 2peel
Function: noun
: the surgical removal of skin imperfections (as blemishes and wrinkles) by the application of a caustic chemical andespecially an acid to the skin called also chemical peel

PEEL
Used to implement version of Emacs on PRIME computers.

peel

In addition to the idiom beginning with peel, also see keep one's eyes open (peeled).

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