peel1
v.
- remove the outer covering or skin from (a fruit, vegetable, etc.).
- (of a surface) lose parts of its outer layer or covering in small strips or pieces.
▸come off in strips or small pieces.
-
(peel something away/off)
remove a thin outer covering.
▸
(peel something off)
remove an article of clothing.
-
(peel off)
leave a group by veering away.
▸
(peel out)
N. Amer. informal leave quickly.
n.
- the outer covering or rind of a fruit or vegetable.
- an act of exfoliating dead skin in the cosmetic treatment of microdermabrasion.
Derivative
- peelable adj.
- peelings pl. n.
Etymology
ME (in the sense ‘to plunder’): var. of dial. pill, from L. pilare ‘to strip hair from’, from pilus ‘hair’.
peel2
n.
archaic a shovel, especially a baker's shovel for carrying loaves into or out of an oven.
Etymology
ME: from OFr. pele, from L. pala, from the base of pangere ‘to fix’.
peel3
n.
a small square defensive tower of a kind built in the 16th century in the border counties of England and Scotland.
Etymology
prob. short for synonymous peel-house: peel from Anglo-Norman Fr. pel ‘stake, palisade’.
peel4
v.
Croquet send (another player's ball) through a hoop.
Etymology
C19: from the name of Walter H. Peel, founder of the All England Croquet Association.