Măç'er-āte, v. t.
v. t. [imp. & p. p. MACERATED; p. pr. & vb. n. MACERATING.] [Lat. macerare, maceratum, from macer, lean, meager, thin; It. macerare, Sp., Pg., & Pr. macerar, Fr. macérer.]
Sense 1. To make lean; to wear away; to cause to pine or waste away; to mortify; to harass. [Obs. or rare.]
Out of excessive zeal they macerate their bodies and impair their health. Fiddes.
Sense 2. To steep almost to solution; to soften and separate the parts of by steeping, as in a fluid, or by the digestive process.