desiccate

verb

1. (transitive)To remove moisture from; to dry; (sometimes) to dry to an extreme degree.

   “[…] As in Bodies deſsiccate, by Heat, or Age; For in them, when the Natiue Spirit goeth forth, and the Moiſture with it, the Aire with time getteth into the Pores.”

   “Except on the borders of the ocean, and on the mountain sides where it deposits moisture in a visible form, the sea breeze has a drying effect. It desiccates the soil with rapidity.”

   “[George A.] Wyeth, who is also a first class surgeon, as well as urologist, has made use of the desiccation and endothermic method to destroy tumors in the bladder by making a suprapublic opening and then penetrating and desiccating the disease in an area all around the base of the tumor which is then undermined, desiccated, and removed.”

   “At the time of spring burning in 1968 the leaves and small stems of standing manzanita plants had been thoroughly desiccated by the spray treatment first applied in November, 1966.”

   “Transfer the acetone washings to a tared beaker and evaporate to dryness at ambient temperature and pressure. Desiccate and dry to a constant weight.”

2. (transitive)To preserve by drying.

   “The nuts are then passed into a double disc machine, and this travelling at a speed of 3,000 revolutions per minute desiccates the coconut.”

   “All equipment used for removing the meat from the shell and for grinding, shredding, drying, classifying, and desiccating the coconut should be clean and free from pathogens.”

3. (intransitive, rare)To become dry; to dry up.

   “Lately, in France, they stopped the boiling process in the preparation of brown sugar a few degrees before the point of crystallization, which is 243°, or 244°; and then spreading their syrup over their copper pans, placed round a stove or bake house, leave the syrup to desiccate slowly, and to crystallize in what they call the natural way; […]”

   “Favus is a chronic inflammation of the hair-follicles, associated with the production of a peculiar yellowish substance which surrounds the cylinder of the hair, and is seen through the epidermis as a minute circular spot, not raised above the level of the skin. The yellow substance, after a short period, escapes from the follicles upon the surface of the epidermis, and desiccates into yellowish friable crusts, forming a distinct cup with an inverted border, around the base of each hair.”

   “A dry atmosphere also preserves organic bodies from decay. This is exemplified in some parts of Texas and South America, where meat is readily preserved, though the country is warm if not hot. The fluids simply evaporate, and leave the harder parts to dessicate.^([sic – meaning desiccate])”

adj

1. Having had moisture removed; dehydrated, desiccated.

   “It [the byssus fungus] is not only capable of propagation by the most minute fragments, however rudely detached, but it also retains the principle of revivification for years together when in a desiccate state.”

   “How many years have you been here? / […] / Before a desiccate sky left rivers of cracks / in the belly of your red earth?”

noun

1. A substance which has been desiccated, that is, had its moisture removed.

   “The Cy dyes are shipped as a desiccate in sealed packs.”