Etymology : Middle English pelen, from Middle French peler, from Latin pilare to remove the hair from, from pilus hair
Pronunciation : pE(&)l
Function : verb
Date : 13th century
1. outer skin of fruit or vegetable, rind; scale, flake. remove skin, remove a rind, skin; shed skin; undress, disrobe, unclothe, strip. peel\peel\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. peeled ; p. pr. & vb. n. peeling.] [f. peler to pull out the hair, to strip, to peel, fr. l. pilare to deprive of hair, fr. pilus a hair; or perh. partly fr. f. peler to peel off the skin, perh. fr. l. pellis skin (cf. fell skin). cf. peruke.].
2. to strip off the skin, bark, or rind of; to strip by drawing or tearing off the skin, bark, husks, etc.; to flay; to decorticate; as, to peel an orange. the skillful shepherd peeled me certain wands.
3. to strip or tear off; to remove by stripping, as the skin of an animal, the bark of a tree, etc.peel \peel\ , n. [oe. pel. cf. pile a heap.] a small tower, fort, or castle; a keep. [scot.]peel \peel\, v. i. to lose the skin, bark, or rind; to come off, as the skin, bark, or rind does; -- often used with an adverb; as, the bark peels easily or readily.peel \peel\, n. [f. pelle, l. pala.] a spadelike implement, variously used, as for removing loaves of bread from a baker's oven; also, a t-shaped implement used by printers and bookbinders for hanging wet sheets of paper on lines or poles to dry. also, the blade of an oar.peel \peel\, v. t. [confused with peel to strip, but fr. f. piller to pillage. see:
pill to rob, pillage.] to plunder; to pillage; to rob. [obs.] but govern ill the nations under yoke, peeling their provinces.peel \peel\, n. the skin or rind; as, the peel of an orange.peel n.
4. british politician (1788-1850) [syn: peel, robert peel, sir robert peel].
5. the rind of a fruit v 1: strip the skin off ("pare apples") [syn: skin, pare] 2: come off in flakes or thin small pieces; "the paint in my house is peeling off" [syn: peel off, flake off, flake].
6. A small tower, fort, or castle; a keep.
7. A spadelike implement, variously used, as for removing loaves of bread from a baker's oven; also, a T-shaped implement used by printers and bookbinders for hanging wet sheets of paper on lines or poles to dry.
8. Also, the blade of an oar.
9. To plunder; to pillage; to rob.
10. To strip off the skin, bark, or rind of; to strip by drawing or tearing off the skin, bark, husks, etc.; to flay; to decorticate; as, to peel an orange.
11. To strip or tear off; to remove by stripping, as the skin of an animal, the bark of a tree, etc.
12. To lose the skin, bark, or rind; to come off, as the skin, bark, or rind does; often used with an adverb; as, the bark peels easily or readily.
13. The skin or rind; as, the peel of an orange. the rind of a fruit or vegetable British politician.
14. 1. The peel of a fruit such as a lemon or an apple is its skin. grated lemon peel. You can also refer to a peel. a banana peel.
15. When you peel fruit or vegetables, you remove their skins. She sat down in the kitchen and began peeling potatoes.
16. If you peel off something that has been sticking to a surface or if it peels off, it comes away from the surface. One of the kids was peeling plaster off the wall It took me two days to peel off the labels Paint was peeling off the walls The wallpaper was peeling away close to the ceiling. an unrenovated bungalow with slightly peeling blue paint.
17. If a surface is peeling, the paint on it is coming away. Its once-elegant white pillars are peeling.
18. If you are peeling or if your skin is peeling, small pieces of skin are coming off, usually because you have been burned by the sun. His face, at the moment, was peeling from sunburn. British politician. As home secretary (1822-1827 and 1828-1830) he established the London police force (1829) and helped pass the Catholic Emancipation Act (1829). He later served as prime minister (1834-1835 and 1841-1846). A fortified house or tower of a kind constructed in the borderland of Scotland and England in the 16th century.