# desiccate

> English word · Verb · IPA /ˈdɛsɪkeɪt/

## Definitions
1. To remove moisture from; to dry; (sometimes) to dry to an extreme degree.
2. To preserve by drying.
3. To become dry; to dry up.

## Etymology
From Latin dēsiccō (“to dry completely, dry up”) + -ate (verb-forming suffix), from dē- (“completely, to exhaustion”, a prefix) + siccō (“to dry; to drain, exhaust”), from siccus (“dry”) + -ō (first conjugation verb-forming suffix). By surface analysis, de- + siccate.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/desiccate