The word “decoct” is almost exclusively found in the kitchen. It means “to extract the essence (flavor) from something by heating or boiling it.” When a bundle of herbs is added to a stew, then removed after simmering, that decocts the flavor of the herbs but a diner doesn’t have to deal with leaves and stems in their meal. Or when fruit and sugar are added to a pot of water, and it turns into a thickened syrup infused with flavor, that’s a decoction (the noun form of the term). The Latin verb “decoquere” is formed from “de-” (meaning “down”) and “coquere” (meaning “to cook”).