ecdysis

UK: /ˈɛkdɪsɪs/ US: (ek′də sis)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

ec•dy•sis  (ek′də sis), n., pl. -ses 

(-sēz′). 
1. Zoology the shedding or casting off of an outer coat or integument by snakes, crustaceans, etc.

• Greek ékdysis a getting out, equivalent. to ek- ec- + dý(ein) to enter + -sis -sis
• Neo-Latin
• 1850–55;

ec•dys•i•al  (ek diz′ē əl, -dizh′-, -dizh′əl), adj. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

ecdysis / ˈɛkdɪsɪs/ noun ( -ses / -ˌsiːz/)

1. the periodic shedding of the cuticle in insects and other arthropods or the outer epidermal layer in reptiles

Etymology: 19th Century: New Latin, from Greek ekdusis, from ekduein to strip, from ek- ex-¹ + duein to put on