v. & n.
—v.
1 tr. a strip the skin, rind, bark, wrapping, etc. from (a fruit, vegetable, tree, etc.). b (usu. foll. by off) strip (skin, peel, wrapping, etc.) from a fruit etc.
2 intr. a (of a tree, an animal's or person's body, a painted surface, etc.) become bare of bark, skin, paint, etc. b (often foll. by off) (of bark, a person's skin, paint, etc.) flake off.
3 intr. (often foll. by off) colloq. (of a person) strip for exercise etc.
4 tr. Croquet send (another player's ball) through the hoops.
—n. the outer covering of a fruit, vegetable, prawn, etc.; rind.
Phrases and idioms:
peel off
1 veer away and detach oneself from a group of marchers, a formation of aircraft, etc.
2 colloq. strip off one's clothes.
Derivatives:
peeler n. (in sense 1 of v.).
Etymology: earlier pill, pele (orig. = plunder) f. ME pilien etc. f. OE pilian (unrecorded) f. L pilare f. pilus hair
2.
n. a shovel, esp. a baker's shovel for bringing loaves etc. into or out of an oven.
Etymology: ME & OF pele f. L pala, rel. to pangere fix
3.
n. (also pele) hist. a small square tower built in the 16th c. in the border counties of England and Scotland for defence against raids.
Etymology: ME pel stake, palisade, f. AF & OF pel f. L palus stake: cf. PALE(2)
Useful english dictionary. 2012.