Dictionary entry

Ecdysis

Webster's Dictionary 1913

‖Ec″dy‐sis (?), n.; pl.Ecdyses (#). [NL., fr. Gr. ἔκδυσισ a getting out, fr. εκδὔειν, to put off; εκ̓ out + δύειν to enter.] (Biol.) The act of shedding, or casting off, an outer cuticular layer, as in the case of serpents, lobsters, etc.; a coming out; as, the ecdysis of the pupa from its shell; exuviation.