Slough

From Middle English, akin to Middle High German slÃ»ch ("slough") (whence German Schlauch ("tube, hose")).

Full definition of slough

(plural sloughs)

The skin shed by a snake or other reptile.That is the slough of a rattler; we must be careful.
Dead skin on a sore or ulcer.This is the slough that came off of his skin after the burn.

(transitive) To shed (skin).This skin is being sloughed.
(intransitive) To slide off (like a layer of skin).A week after he was burned, a layer of skin on his arm sloughed off.

2013, Casey Watson, Mummyâ€™s Little Helper: The heartrending true story of a young girl:The mud sloughed off her palms easily ...

From Old English slÅh, probably from Proto-Germanic *slÅhaz.

(plural sloughs)

1883 "That comed - as you call it - of being arrant asses," retorted the doctor, "and not having sense enough to know honest air from poison, and the dry land from a vile, pestiferous slough. — Treasure Island,

Eastern United States A type of swamp or shallow lake system, typically formed as or by the backwater of a larger waterway, similar to a bayou with trees.We paddled under a canopy of trees through the slough.
Western United States A secondary channel of a river delta, usually flushed by the tide.The Sacramento River Delta contains dozens of sloughs that are often used for water-skiing and fishing.
A state of depression.John is in a slough.
(Canadian Prairies) A small pond, often alkaine, many but not all are formed by glacial potholes.Potholes or sloughs formed by a glacierâ€™s retreat from the central plains of North America, are now known to be some of the worldâ€™s most productive ecosystems.