del·i·quesce (d ĕl ′ĭ-kw ĕs )
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intr.v. del·i·quesced, del·i·quesc·ing, del·i·quesc·es 1. a. To melt away. b. To disappear as if by melting. 2. Chemistry To dissolve and become liquid by absorbing moisture from the air. 3. Botany a. To become fluid or soft on maturing, as certain fungal structures. b. To branch out into numerous subdivisions that lack a main axis, as the trunk of an elm.
[Latin dēliquēscere : dē-, de- + liquēscere, to melt, inchoative of liquēre, to be liquid.]
del′i·quescence n. del′i·quescent adj. |