What is the Meaning of Dessication?
The word "desiccation" has several meanings, all of which relate to a process of drying or loss of moisture.
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Etymology
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The word "desiccation" describes the process of drying. It is a noun formed from the verb "desiccate" from the Latin desiccatus, which is a past participle of the infinitive desiccare, "to dry up." Siccus means "dry" in Latin. In modern Romance languages (Italian, Spanish, French), then, the word for "dry" is clearly derived from the original Latin. In Italian, the word for "dry" is "secco;" in Spanish it is "seco;" and in French it is "sec."
"Desiccate" as a Transitive Verb
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According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, the three meanings of "desiccate" as a transitive verb are to dry up, to preserve by drying, as of food, and to drain of emotional or intellectual vitality.
Mark Twain used the word "desiccate" in a manner that incorporated all of these meanings in an address he gave as a presidential hopeful: "I regard the poor man, in his present condition, as so much wasted raw material. Cut up and properly canned, he might be made useful to fatten the natives of the cannibal islands and to improve our export trade in that region. I shall recommend legislation upon the subject in my first message. My campaign cry will be: 'Dessicate the poor working-man; stuff him into sausages.'"
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"Desiccate" as an Intransitive Verb
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According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, the intransitive meaning of "desiccate" is "to become dried up."
Noun and Adjective Forms of "Desiccate"
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"Desiccation" and "desiccator" are noun forms of the verb, "desiccate." "Desiccative" is an adjectival form.
Desiccation and Physiology
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Most organisms consist of 70 to 80 percent water. Desiccation can have a harmful effect on life forms that lack the ability to protect themselves from water loss. Certain life forms have developed ways to obtain and maintain water despite desiccative environmental conditions. For instance, desert plants grow large root systems that span great distances to extract scarce ground water, and some mosses are able to extract water from the air.
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