deliquesce \del-ih-KWES\, intransitive verb:
Definitons:
1. To melt away or to disappear as if by melting.
2. (Chemistry) To dissolve gradually and become liquid by attracting and absorbing moisture from the air, as certain salts, acids, and alkalies.
3. To become fluid or soft with age, as certain fungi.
4. To form many small divisions or branches -- used especially of the veins of a leaf.
Example:
His indifference toward if not hatred for his mother deliquesced, through the writing of this book, into a recognition of his love for her.
-- Leslie Schenk, "Rouge Decante", World Literature Today, June 1, 1996
Origin:
Deliquesce comes from Latin deliquescere, from de-, "down, from, away" + liquescere, "to melt," from liquere, "to be fluid." It is related to liquid and liquor.
