exfoliate

English

Etymology

From Late Latin exfoliō (“I strip of leaves”), from ex- (“out of”) + folium (“leaf”); compare effoliate and French exfolier.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɛksˈfoʊlieɪt/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɛksˈfəʊlieɪt/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ex‧fo‧li‧ate

Verb

exfoliate (third-person singular simple present exfoliates, present participle exfoliating, simple past and past participle exfoliated)

1. To remove the leaves from a plant.
2. To remove a layer of skin, as in cosmetic preparation.
3. (mineralogy) To split into scales, especially to become converted into scales as the result of heat or decomposition.

Derived terms

• exfoliable
• exfoliant
• exfoliating
• exfoliation
• foliate
• foliation

 

Translations

to remove the leaves of a plant

• Bulgarian: обезлиствам (obezlistvam)
• Dutch: ontbladeren (nl)
• Galician: esfollar (gl)
• German: entblättern (de)

to remove a layer of skin, as in cosmetic preparation

• Bulgarian: лющя (bg) (ljuštja), ексфолирам (eksfoliram)
• Catalan: exfoliar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 去角質／去角质 (qùjiǎozhí)

• Dutch: exfoliëren (nl)
• Spanish: exfoliar (es)
• Swedish: exfoliera
• Welsh: diblisgo

Latin

Verb

exfoliāte

1. second-person plural present active imperative of exfoliō

Spanish

Verb

exfoliate

1. second-person singular voseo imperative of exfoliar combined with te