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Wiktionary

peel

EnglishEdit

WOTD – 13 January 2016
 
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PronunciationEdit

Etymology 1Edit

From Middle English pelen itself from Old English pilian and Old French peler, pellier, both from Latin pilō, pilāre (“to remove hair from, depilate”), from pilus (“hair”).

VerbEdit

peel (third-person singular simple present peels, present participle peeling, simple past and past participle peeled)

  1. (transitive) To remove the skin or outer covering of.
    I sat by my sister's bed, peeling oranges for her.
  2. (transitive) To remove something from the outer or top layer of.
    I peeled (the skin from) a banana and ate it hungrily.
    We peeled the old wallpaper off in strips where it was hanging loose.
  3. (intransitive) To become detached, come away, especially in flakes or strips; to shed skin in such a way.
    I had been out in the sun too long, and my nose was starting to peel.
  4. (intransitive) To remove one's clothing.
    The children peeled by the side of the lake and jumped in.
  5. (intransitive) To move, separate (off or away).
    The scrum-half peeled off and made for the touchlines.
SynonymsEdit
Derived termsEdit
Derived terms
TranslationsEdit
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked

NounEdit

peel (countable and uncountable, plural peels)

  1. (usually uncountable) The skin or outer layer of a fruit, vegetable, etc.
  2. (countable, rugby) The action of peeling away from a formation.
  3. (countable) A cosmetic preparation designed to remove dead skin or to exfoliate.
SynonymsEdit
Derived termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked

Etymology 2Edit

From Middle English peel, pele, from Anglo-Norman pel (compare modern French pieu), from Latin palus (“stake”). Doublet of pole.

NounEdit

peel (plural peels)

  1. (obsolete) A stake.
  2. (obsolete) A fence made of stakes; a stockade.
  3. (archaic) A small tower, fort, or castle; a keep.
Derived termsEdit

Etymology 3Edit

From Old French pele (modern French pelle), from Latin pāla, from the base of plangere (“fix, plant”).

NounEdit

peel (plural peels)

  1. A shovel or similar instrument, now especially a pole with a flat disc at the end used for removing pizza or loaves of bread from a baker's oven.
  2. A T-shaped implement used by printers and bookbinders for hanging wet sheets of paper on lines or poles to dry.
  3. (archaic, US) The blade of an oar.
TranslationsEdit

Etymology 4Edit

Origin unknown.

NounEdit

peel (plural peels)

  1. (Scotland, curling) An equal or match; a draw.
  2. (curling) A takeout which removes a stone from play as well as the delivered stone.

VerbEdit

peel (third-person singular simple present peels, present participle peeling, simple past and past participle peeled)

  1. (curling) To play a peel shot.

Etymology 5Edit

Named from Walter H. Peel, a noted 19th-century croquet player.

VerbEdit

peel (third-person singular simple present peels, present participle peeling, simple past and past participle peeled)

  1. (croquet) To send through a hoop (of a ball other than one's own).

Etymology 6Edit

Misspelling of peal.

VerbEdit

peel (third-person singular simple present peels, present participle peeling, simple past and past participle peeled)

  1. Misspelling of peal: to sound loudly.
    • 1825 June 25, "My Village Bells", in The Circulator of Useful Knowledge, Literature, Amusement, and General Information number XXVI, available in, 1825, The Circulator of Useful Amusement, Literature, Science, and General Information, page 401,
      Oh ! still for me let merry bells peel out their holy chime;
    • 1901 January 1, "Twentieth Century's Triumphant Entry", The New York Times, page 1,
      The lights flashed, the crowds sang,... bells peeled, bombs thundered,... and the new Century made its triumphant entry.
    • 2006, Miles Richardson, Being-In-Christ and Putting Death in Its Place, Louisiana State University Press, →ISBN, pages 230–231,
      As the tiny Virgin... approaches one of the barrio churches, bells peel vigorously, a brass band launches into a fast-paced tune, and large rockets zoom... .

Etymology 7Edit

Old French piller (“pillage”).

VerbEdit

peel (third-person singular simple present peels, present participle peeling, simple past and past participle peeled)

  1. (archaic, transitive) To plunder; to pillage, rob.

See alsoEdit

AnagramsEdit

WolofEdit

NounEdit

peel

  1. shovel
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