desquamate

Etymology

First attested in 1740; borrowed from Latin dēsquāmātus, perfect passive participle of dēsquāmō (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from dē- (“off”) + squāma (“a scale”) + -ō (“verb-forming suffix”).

verb

  1. To remove the scales from, to scale; (less narrowly) to peel.
  2. To come off in the form of scales, to scale.