Peel definition
An example of a peel is the yellow outer skin of an banana.
An example of peel is to remove a sticker from a book.
An example of peel is to take the rind off of an orange.
I sat by my sister's bed, peeling oranges for her.
I peeled (the skin from) an orange and ate it hungrily.
We peeled the old wallpaper off in strips where it was hanging loose.
I had been out in the sun too long, and my nose was starting to peel.
The children peeled by the side of the lake and jumped in.
Peeled the label from the jar.
Her sunburned skin began to peel.
- to veer away from a flight formation in an abrupt maneuver
- to accelerate an automobile very rapidly, as in a drag race
Idioms and Phrasal Verbs
Origin of peel
- From Middle English pilen, pelen to peel from Old French peler, Old English pilian (both from Latin pilāre to deprive of hair) (from pilus hair) and from Old French pillier to tug, pull, plunder (from Latin pilleum felt cap)
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- Middle English pel stake, small castle from Anglo-Norman stockade variant of Old French stake from Latin pālus pag- in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- Middle English from Old French pele from Latin pāla spade, peel pag- in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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- Named from Walter H. Peel, a noted 19th-century croquet player.
From Wiktionary
- Old French piller (“pillage").
From Wiktionary
- Misspelling of peal.
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- Origin unknown.
From Wiktionary