[peel] vb [ME pelen, fr. MF peler, fr. L pilare to remove the hair from, fr. pilus hair] vt (13c) 1: to strip off an outer layer of "~ an orange"
2: to remove by stripping "~ the label off the can" ~ vi 1 a: to come off in sheets or scales b: to lose an outer layer (as of skin) "his face is ~ing"
2: to take off one's clothes
3: to break away from a group or formation--often used with off -- peel.able adj
[2]peel n (14c) 1: the skin or rind of a fruit
2: a thin layer of organic material that is embedded in a film of collodion and stripped from the surface of an object (as a plant fossil) for microscopic study [3]peel n [ME pele, fr. MF, fr. L pala] (14c): a usu. long-handled spade-shaped instrument that is used chiefly by bakers for getting something (as bread or pies) into or out of the oven [4]peel n [ME pel stockade, stake, fr. AF, stockade & MF, stake, fr. L palus stake--more at pole] (1726): a medieval small massive fortified tower along the Scottish-English border--called also peel tower