desiccate

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 27, 2021 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>desiccate</strong> &#149; \DESS-ih-kayt\&nbsp; &#149; <em>verb</em><br /> <p><strong>1 :</strong> to dry up or become dried up</p> <p><strong>2 :</strong> to preserve (a food) by drying <strong>:</strong> <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dehydrate">dehydrate</a></p> <p><strong>3 :</strong> to drain of emotional or intellectual <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vitality">vitality</a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>"<a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/horticultural">Horticultural</a> oils work by smothering insect and mite pests/eggs, and in breaking down their protective coatings, causing them to <em>desiccate</em> (dry out)." — <a href="https://www.hjnews.com/preston/extension-notes-how-to-use-horticultural-oil-effectively/article_ef799585-e638-5f1e-9019-d1a77fd8e901.html">Bracken Henderson, <em>The Preston (Idaho) Citizen</em>, 28 Apr. 2021</a></p> <p>"A title like 'pungent dins concentric' conjures minor Language poetry circa 1986, but Vanessa Couto Johnson's debut couldn't be less <em>desiccated</em>. Her <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/strophic">strophic</a> prose unfolds at a synaptic pace…." — <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/books/ct-books-best-poetry-2018-1220-story.html">Michael Robbins, <em>The Chicago Tribune</em>, 11 Dec. 2018</a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>Raisins are desiccated grapes; they're also dehydrated grapes. And yet, a close look at the etymologies of <em>desiccate</em> and <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dehydrate">dehydrate</a></em> raises a tangly question. In Latin <em>siccus</em> means "dry," whereas the Greek stem <em>hydr-</em> means "water." So how could it be that <em>desiccate</em> and <em>dehydr