To strip or remove the covering from something; to leave bare or naked.
From Latin denudare: de- (completely) + nudare (to make naked), from nudus (naked). Entered English in the 16th century, initially used literally, then adopted by geologists.
This word connects to 'nude' and 'nudity'—both come from Latin nudus meaning naked—so to denude literally means to make something completely naked by removing what covers it.
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