exsiccation

E1X8S1I1C3C3A1T1I1O1N1

noun

The act of operation of drying; evaporation or expulsion of moisture.

OriginLate Latin exsiccatio, exsiccationis ← Latin exsicco →
Scrabble 22
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Meanings

nounexsiccation (countable and uncountable, plural exsiccations)

plural exsiccations

  1. archaiccountableuncountableThe act of operation of drying; evaporation or expulsion of moisture.

    That which is concreted by exsiccation or expression of humidity, will be resolved by humectification, as earth, dirt and clay.

    1658, Sir Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica, London: Edward Dod OCLC 216753971
    1 more example

    This property is […] more specific than that of hardening in the air; which may be reckoned a kind of exsiccation, like the drying of clay into bricks.

    1802, William Paley, Natural Theology, section XIX

Origin

  1. Latinexsicco
  2. Late Latinexsiccatio, exsiccationis
  3. Englishexsiccation

Borrowed from Late Latin exsiccatio, exsiccationis, from Latin exsicco: compare French exsiccation.

More words from Late Latin, Latin

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

exsiccation. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/exsiccation

MLA

“exsiccation.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/exsiccation. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “exsiccation,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/exsiccation.

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