decant
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From French décanter, from Medieval Latin dēcanthāre, from dē- + canthus (“beak of a cup or jug”).[1]
Pronunciation[edit]
Verb[edit]
decant (third-person singular simple present decants, present participle decanting, simple past and past participle decanted)
- (transitive) To pour off (a liquid) gently, so as not to disturb the sediment.
- 1908, Michael Faraday, The Chemical History of a Candle
- After washing, the insoluble lime soap is decomposed with hot dilute sulphuric acid. The melted fatty acids thus rise as an oil to the surface, when they are decanted.
- 1908, Michael Faraday, The Chemical History of a Candle
- (transitive) To pour from one vessel into another.
- to decant wine
- (archaic, intransitive) To flow.
- 1900, Sabine Baring-Gould, A Book of Dartmoor
- Swincombe, formerly Swan-combe, runs to the north of the ridge, and has the sources of its river in the Fox Tor mires and near Childe's Tomb. It runs north-east, and then abruptly passes north to decant into the West Dart.
- 1900, Sabine Baring-Gould, A Book of Dartmoor
- (science fiction) To remove a clone from its chamber, vat, or artificial womb.
- To rehouse people while their buildings are being refurbished or rebuilt.
Translations[edit]
to pour off gently so as not to disturb the sediment; to decant wine
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to pour from one vessel into another
References[edit]
- ^ “decant”, in OED Online, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
