WikiWord

English

efface

/əˈfeɪs/ · verb

Meaning

  1. To erase (as anything impressed or inscribed upon a surface); to render illegible or indiscernible.
  2. To cause to disappear as if by rubbing out or striking out.
  3. To make oneself inobtrusive as if due to modesty or diffidence.
  4. Of the cervix during pregnancy, to thin and stretch in preparation for labor.
  5. Of a woman: to have the cervix thin and stretch in this manner.

Etymology / origin

From Middle French effacer (“erase”), from Old French esfacier (“remove the face”).

  1. *dʰeh₁-(ine-pro)
  2. esfacier(Old French)
  3. effacer(frm)
  4. efface (English)
  5. Relations: uder, uder, root

Related words

Descendant words

Sources

No citations have been attached yet.