Medicine & BodyGreek → English
Epidermis
/ˌɛpɪˈdɜːrmɪs/noun
The outermost layer of skin, sitting on top of the dermis.
The Greek roots
ἐπί
epí
upon, over
δέρμα
dérma
skin, hide
Literally: “upon the skin”
The story of the word
Greek medical writers used ἐπιδερμίς for the thin outer film that peels after a burn. English took it through Late Latin in the 17th century, and anatomists later cut the prefix off to name the living layer beneath, which is where dermis comes from. The root δέρμα belongs to δέρω, to flay, which is why taxidermy is the arranging of a skin.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Late Latin → English
- First recorded
- 17th century
The same roots elsewhere
Other languages reached for exactly the same Greek pieces.
Same family
dermisdermatologytaxidermypachyderm
In a sentence
The tattoo ink sits below the epidermis, which is why it does not wash off.
Sunburn damages the epidermis first.