Deseeding

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. Taking the seeds out of fruit, vegetables or other produce before it is eaten or processed
2. Extracting the pips or kernels from a fruit so that only the flesh remains
3. Removing the seed content from a plant or crop, often as part of food preparation or gardening

Etymology: "Deseeding" is the present participle and gerund of "deseed", which is formed from the prefix "de-" and the noun "seed". The prefix, borrowed into English from Latin "de-", here means "removing from" or "taking away", so to deseed something is to take the seeds out of it. The formation is entirely transparent: the word is simply the English noun "seed" with a reversing or removing prefix attached, and its sense follows directly from those two parts. The pattern is productive, which is why it is easy to build new verbs this way. Cooks deseed peppers and cucumbers, and growers deseed fruit for fresh eating, using the same prefix-plus-noun logic that gives English verbs such as "debone" or "defrost". No single coiner or famous episode lies behind the word; it is a plain, modern formation built from existing English materials.

Synonyms: pit

Antonyms: seed