To remove the bark or outer layer from a plant or tree; to strip away the cortex or outer covering of something.
From Latin 'ex-' (out) and 'cortex' (bark or outer layer). A botanical and anatomical term describing the removal of bark or cortical tissue.
This word reveals how Latin-based anatomy and botany terminology are almost mirror images—'cortex' appears in both your brain's 'cortex' and in 'excorticate' meaning to remove bark, showing the same root concept.
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