From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Effloresce \Ef`flo*resce"\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Effloresced};
p. pr. & vb. n. {Efflorescing}.] [L. efflorescere to bloom,
blossom; ex + florescere to begin to blossom, incho., fr.
florere to blossom, fr. flos a flower. See {Flower}.]
1. To blossom forth. --Carlyle.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Chem.) To change on the surface, or throughout, to a
whitish, mealy, or crystalline powder, from a gradual
decomposition, esp. from the loss of water, on simple
exposure to the air; as, Glauber's salts, and many others,
effloresce.
[1913 Webster]
3. To become covered with a whitish crust or light
crystallization, from a slow chemical change between some
of the ingredients of the matter covered and an acid
proceeding commonly from an external source; as, the walls
of limestone caverns sometimes effloresce with nitrate of
calcium in consequence of the action of nitric acid formed
in the atmosphere.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
effloresce
v 1: come into or as if into flower; "These manifestations
effloresced in the past" [syn: {effloresce}, {burst forth}]
2: assume crystalline form; become crystallized [syn:
{crystallize}, {crystalize}, {crystalise}, {effloresce}]
3: become encrusted with crystals due to evaporation
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