To remove foam, froth, or scum; variant form of despumate.
A variant or shortened form of despumate, directly from Latin despumare. Both versions existed in English texts, with despume being the simpler form.
The existence of both 'despume' and 'despumate' shows how scientific terms could come in different lengths depending on how learned the writer wanted to sound—shorter versions for practical workers, longer ones for academics.
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