ekˈsfōlēˌāt verb
Etymology: Late Latin exfoliatus, past participle of exfoliare to strip of leaves, from Latin ex- ex- (I) + -foliare (from folium leaf) — more at blade
transitive verb
1. : to cast or throw off from the surface in scales, laminae, or splinters
2. : to remove or take off the surface of in scales or laminae
3. : to open, spread, or extend by or as if by opening out leaves
in twenty-three chapters he exfoliates his program of moral transformation — O.L.Reiser
intransitive verb
1. : to split into or give off scales, laminae, or body cells especially from the surface
2. : to come off in a thin piece : scale or flake off
3. : to grow or develop by or as if by producing or unfolding leaves
criticism has exfoliated until the work of art is sometimes smothered beneath it — Malcolm Cowley