Peel

Peel

Verb & Noun · /piːl/ · to remove the skin of something; the outer skin itself

Definition

As a verb: to remove the outer layer or skin from a fruit, vegetable, or surface. As a noun: the skin or rind itself — orange peel, banana peel. The word also extends metaphorically: to peel away layers of complexity, to peel off from a group, to peel back and reveal what is hidden beneath the surface.

Origin

From Old English pilian and Latin pilare (to strip of hair), ultimately from pilus (hair). The word entered English with the sense of stripping a covering away. The connection to hair-removal is preserved in the word depilatory. By the 14th century, peel was firmly established as the standard word for removing fruit skin.