descale

D2E1S1C3A1L1E1

verb

To remove scale from the surface of a metal, especially from the inner surfaces of boilers etc.

Similar
scaleunscale
OriginEnglish scale ← Middle English scale ← Latin scāla →
Scrabble 10
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

verbdescale (third-person singular simple present descales, present participle descaling, simple past and past participle descaled)

present singular third person descales · participle present descaling · participle past descaled · past descaled

  1. To remove scale from the surface of a metal, especially from the inner surfaces of boilers etc.
  2. To remove the scales from a fish etc.

    Synonyms: scale, unscale

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo remove the scales from a fish etc.

Similar
scaleunscale

More synonyms by meaning

verbremove the scales from

Similar
scale
Broader
removetaketake away
Also see
scaleunscale

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*de
  2. Proto-Indo-European*déh₁
  3. Proto-Italic*dē
  4. Latindē
  5. Latindē-
  6. Englishde-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*skend-
  8. Proto-Indo-European*(s)kn̥d-sleh₂
  9. Proto-Italic*skand-slā
  10. Latinscāla
  11. Middle Englishscale
  12. Englishscale
  13. Englishdescale

From de- + scale.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan desincrustar
  • desincrustarremove scale from a boiler
Chinese Mandarin 去鱗 /去鳞, 去垢
  • 去鱗 /去鳞 (qùlín)remove the scales from a fish
  • 去垢 (qùgòu)remove scale from a boiler
Finnish suomustaa, poistaa kalkki
  • suomustaaremove the scales from a fish
  • poistaa kalkkiremove scale from a boiler
French détartrer, désincruster
  • détartrerremove scale from a boiler
  • désincrusterremove scale from a boiler
German entschuppen, entkalken
  • entschuppenremove the scales from a fish
  • entkalkenremove scale from a boiler
Portuguese desincrustar
  • desincrustarremove scale from a boiler
Spanish descalcificar, desincrustar
  • descalcificarremove scale from a boiler
  • desincrustarremove scale from a boiler

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

seedlac
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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