ciss

Meanings

1. To retract (from a uniform film applied to a damp, oily or nonabsorbent surface) and clump up into small droplets, or form craters.

Etymology

Perhaps ultimately derived in some way from Vulgar Latin *cisellum (from *caesellum, from caedō), whence e.g. French cission, ciseau and other words with senses related to cutting and separating, or perhaps from the same root as scission (“division, separating”) (Latin scissus, scindō), or even a conflation of the two as in scissor, whence sciss (“cut with scissors”).