Del`i*quesce" (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Deliquesced (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Deliquescing.] [L. deliquescere to melt, dissolve; de- + liquescere to become fluid, melt, fr. liquere to be fluid. See Liquid.] (Chem.) To dissolve gradually and become liquid by attracting and absorbing moisture from the air, as certain salts, acids, and alkalies.
In very moist air crystals of strontites deliquesce.
Black.
Del`i*ques"cence (?), n. [Cf. F. déliquescence.] The act of deliquescing or liquefying; process by which anything deliquesces; tendency to melt.
Del`i*ques"cent (?), a. [L. deliquescens, -entis, p. pr. of deliquescere: cf. F. déliquescent.] 1. Dissolving; liquefying by contact with the air; capable of attracting moisture from the atmosphere and becoming liquid; as, deliquescent salts.
2. (Bot.) Branching so that the stem is lost in branches, as in most deciduous trees. Gray.
De*liq"ui*ate (?), v. i. [L. deliquia a flowing off, a gutter, deliquium a flowing down, fr. deliquare. See Deliquate.] To melt and become liquid by absorbing water from the air; to deliquesce. Fourcroy.
De*liq`ui*a"tion (?), n. The act of deliquiating.
||De*liq"ui*um (?), n. [L. See Deliquiate.] 1. (Chem.) A melting or dissolution in the air, or in a moist place; a liquid condition; as, a salt falls into a deliquium. [R.]