macerate

verb

(cause to) break down, wither away, causing to break down or wither away

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ˈmæs.ə.ɹɪt/ / /ˈmæs.ə.ɹeɪt/

noun

Etymology: First attested in 1534; borrowed from Latin mācerātus, perfect passive participle of mācerō (see -ate (etymology 1, 2 and 3)), from Proto-Indo-European *mag-, *mak- (“to knead”), whence make. Cognate with French macérer.

A macerated substance.

verb

To soften (something) or separate it into pieces by soaking it in a heated or unheated liquid.
To reduce solids to small pieces (in a macerator).
To make lean; to cause to waste away.
“Baal scuttles with ten tails Between as many legs as he could carry— Perhaps Thomas poking through the holes And finding resolution beyond the scales And incorporeal pain of the hammered Messiah,”
To subdue the appetite by poor or scanty diet; to mortify.
To mortify the flesh in general.
““My dear child, how are you employed?” I knew the voice of the Superior, and I replied, “My father, I was sleeping.” “And I was macerating myself at the foot of the altar for you, my child,—the scourge is red with my blood.” I returned no answer, for I felt the maceration was better merited by the betrayer than the betrayed.”
past participle of macerate