cuticle
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English
Etymology
From Middle French cuticule, from Latin cuticula (“cuticle, skin”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈkjuːtɪkəl/
Audio (Southern England): (file) - Rhymes: -ɪkəl
Noun
cuticle (plural cuticles)
- The outermost layer of the skin of vertebrates; the epidermis.
- The strip of hardened skin at the base and sides of a fingernail or toenail.
- 1992, Toni Morrison, Jazz, Vintage (2016), page 38:
- By that time she has pushed back his cuticles, cleaned his nails and painted them with clear polish.
- Dead or cornified epidermis.
- (zoology, botany) A noncellular protective covering outside the epidermis of many invertebrates and plants.
- A thin skin formed on the surface of a liquid.
Synonyms
- (zoology, botany) (outer protective covering): cuticula
Derived terms
Translations
outermost layer of skin of vertebrates — see epidermis
strip of hardened skin at the base of the finger and toenail
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protective covering outside epidermis
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