Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To remove the bark, husk, or outer layer from; peel.
  • transitive verb To remove the surface layer, membrane, or fibrous cover of (an organ or structure).

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To remove the bark from; in general, to deprive of the cortex, in any sense of that word; strip off the exterior coat of.
  • Destitute of a cortex or cortical layer: used specifically in lichenology.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To divest of the bark, husk, or exterior coating; to husk; to peel; to hull.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive To peel or remove the bark, husk, or outer layer from something
  • verb transitive To surgically remove the surface layer, membrane, or fibrous cover of an organ etc

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb remove the cortex of (an organ)
  • verb remove the outer layer of

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin dēcorticāre, dēcorticāt- : dē-, de- + cortex, cortic-, bark, rind; see sker- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

de- +‎ corticate

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