decorticate

D2E1C3O1R1T1I1C3A1T1E1
UK/diːˈkɔːtɪkeɪt/

verb

To peel or remove the bark, husk, or outer layer from something.

Similar
excorticatedelibratedecorticated
OriginLatin dēcorticātus →
Scrabble 16
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Meanings

verbdecorticate (third-person singular simple present decorticates, present participle decorticating, simple past and past participle decorticated)

present singular third person decorticates · participle present decorticating · participle past decorticated · past decorticated

  1. ergativetransitiveTo peel or remove the bark, husk, or outer layer from something.

    […] but its striking white trunk, which changes to a bright pink in late spring or summer just before it decorticates, makes it a handsome species.

    1962, Lindsay Dixon Pryor, Trees in Canberra, page 89

    Synonyms: excorticate, delibrate

  2. transitiveTo surgically remove the surface layer, membrane, or fibrous cover of an organ etc.
adjectivedecorticate (not comparable)
  1. not comparableHaving had the cortex removed

    visually decorticate

    having had the visual cortex removed

    Synonyms: decorticated

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo peel or remove the bark, husk, or outer layer from something.

Similar
excorticatedelibrate

adjectiveHaving had the cortex removed

Similar
decorticated
Also see
decorticateddelibrateexcorticate

Origin

  1. Latindēcorticātus
  2. Englishdecorticate

The verb is first attested in 1611, the adjective in 1872; borrowed from Latin dēcorticātus, perfect passive participle of dēcorticō (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from dē- (“of, from”) + cortex (“bark”, oblique stem in cortic-) + -ō.

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian обелвам
  • обелвам (obelvam)peel or remove the bark, husk or outer layer from something
Catalan escorxar, decorticar
  • escorxarpeel or remove the bark, husk or outer layer from something
  • decorticarsurgically remove the surface layer
French décortiquer, décortiquer
  • décortiquerpeel or remove the bark, husk or outer layer from something
  • décortiquersurgically remove the surface layer
Icelandic afhýða
  • afhýðapeel or remove the bark, husk or outer layer from something
Irish snamh, rúisc
  • snamhpeel or remove the bark, husk or outer layer from something
  • rúiscpeel or remove the bark, husk or outer layer from something
Norwegian Bokmål avbarke, slindbarke
  • avbarkepeel or remove the bark, husk or outer layer from something
  • slindbarkepeel or remove the bark, husk or outer layer from something
Spanish descortezar
  • descortezarpeel or remove the bark, husk or outer layer from something
Cite this entry
APA

decorticate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/decorticate

MLA

“decorticate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/decorticate. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “decorticate,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/decorticate.

Source: decorticate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.