macerate /ˈmasəˌrāt, ˈmæsəˌreɪt 
/ ▸ verb 1 (especially with reference to food) soften or become softened by soaking in a liquid: [with object] macerate the mustard seeds in vinegar
[no object] the fruit was allowed to macerate before fermentation.
2 archaic cause to grow thinner or waste away, especially by fasting: these men lodged in tombs and macerated themselves with fasting.
– DERIVATIVES maceration /ˌmasəˈrāSH(ə)n, ˌmæsəˈreɪʃ(ə)n / noun,macerator /-ˌrātər/ noun – ORIGIN mid 16th century : from Latin macerat- ‘made soft, soaked’, from macerare ‘to soften’.
EnglishOxford New American Dictionary
