defoliate

Defoliate — De*fo li*ate, Defoliated De*fo li*a ted a. Deprived of leaves, as by their natural fall. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

defoliate — de*fol i*ate, v. t. [LL. defoliare, to shed leaves; L. de + folium leaf: cf. F. d[ e]foliation.] to cause (a plant) to shed its leaves. [PJC] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

defoliate — index denude Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

defoliate — 1793, perhaps a back formation from DEFOLIATION (Cf. defoliation). Earlier in this sense was defoil (c.1600) …   Etymology dictionary

defoliate — ► VERB ▪ remove leaves or foliage from (trees or plants). DERIVATIVES defoliation noun. ORIGIN Latin defoliare, from folium leaf …   English terms dictionary

defoliate — [dē fō′lēāt΄] vt. defoliated, defoliating [< LL defoliatus, pp. of defoliare < de , from + folium, a leaf: see FOLIATE] 1. to strip (trees, etc.) of leaves ☆ 2. to use a defoliant on defoliation n. defoliator n …   English World dictionary

defoliate — [[t]di͟ːfo͟ʊlieɪt[/t]] defoliates, defoliating, defoliated VERB To defoliate an area or the plants in it means to cause the leaves on the plants to fall off or be destroyed. This is done especially in war to remove protection from an enemy. [V n] …   English dictionary

defoliate — UK [diːˈfəʊlɪeɪt] / US [dɪˈfoʊlɪˌeɪt] verb [transitive] Word forms defoliate : present tense I/you/we/they defoliate he/she/it defoliates present participle defoliating past tense defoliated past participle defoliated to remove the leaves from a… …   English dictionary

defoliate — verb To remove foliage from one or more plants, most often with a chemical agent. :: Agent Orange was used to defoliate jungle vegetation …   Wiktionary

defoliate — transitive verb Etymology: Late Latin defoliatus, past participle of defoliare, from Latin de + folium leaf more at blade Date: 1791 to deprive of leaves especially prematurely • defoliation noun • defoliator noun …   New Collegiate Dictionary

defoliate — defoliation, n. defoliator, n. v. /dee foh lee ayt /; adj. /dee foh lee it, ayt /, v., defoliated, defoliating, adj. v.t. 1. to strip (a tree, bush, etc.) of leaves. 2. to destroy or cause widespread loss of leaves in (an area of jungle, forest,… …   Universalium