Word Game

From David Downing:
Awhile back, somebody on the main list pointed out that you could take away one letter at a time from the nine-letter word “startling,” and have the result be a word each time. I decided to use that idea for a column I write for an internal newsletter, and I asked for the longest word anyone could think of. It turns out there’s an eleven-letter word –

emasculates
emasculate
masculate
maculate
maculae
macule
macle
acle
ale
ae
a