Толковый словарь английского языка Oxford English Reference - peel

1. v. & n. --v. 1 tr. a strip the skin, rind, bark, wrapping, etc. from (a fruit, vegetable, tree, etc.). b (usu. foll. by off) strip (skin, peel, wrapping, etc.) from a fruit etc. 2 intr. a (of a tree, an animal's or person's body, a painted surface, etc.) become bare of bark, skin, paint, etc. b (often foll. by off) (of bark, a person's skin, paint, etc.) flake off. 3 intr. (often foll. by off) colloq. (of a person) strip for exercise etc. 4 tr. Croquet send (another player's ball) through the hoops. --n. the outer covering of a fruit, vegetable, prawn, etc.; rind. Phrases and idioms peel off 1 veer away and detach oneself from a group of marchers, a formation of aircraft, etc. 2 colloq. strip off one's clothes. Derivatives peeler n. (in sense 1 of v.). Etymology: earlier pill, pele (orig. = plunder) f. ME pilien etc. f. OE pilian (unrecorded) f. L pilare f. pilus hair 2. n. a shovel, esp. a baker's shovel for bringing loaves etc. into or out of an oven. Etymology: ME & OF pele f. L pala, rel. to pangere fix 3. n. (also pele) hist. a small square tower built in the 16th c. in the border counties of England and Scotland for defence against raids. Etymology: ME pel stake, palisade, f. AF & OF pel f. L palus stake: cf. PALE(2)