dermatologist
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of dermatologist
First recorded in 1860–65; dermatolog(y) + -ist
Explanation
The person who examines your moles, acne, and other skin problems is called a dermatologist. Once visited mainly for acne problems, dermatologists have become more important, as skin problems have grown more common with our increased exposure to the sun. You know that an "-logy" at the end of a word means "study" and that "-logist" means "one who studies. In the noun dermatologist, the object being studied is the derma, the Greek word for "skin." (The Greeks also used it to refer to "leather" or "hide," which still works for diehard sun worshipers. And think of elephants being called "pachyderms," with their "thick skin.") Dermatology and dermatologist both appeared in English in the 19th century.
Vocabulary lists containing dermatologist
Body Language: Derm ("Skin")
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carn (flesh), derm (skin), dent (tooth), os (bone)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Dermatologist Dr Alison Layton told the inquest that "many millions of people" had taken the drug worldwide and Annabel had completed a psychometric test and a questionnaire to help assess her suitability.
From BBC • Sep. 24, 2021
Dermatologist Brian Kim, co-director of the Center for the Study of Itch & Sensory Disorders at Washington University in St. Louis, has identified a second, nonhistamine pathway involved in poison ivy rashes.
From Scientific American • Sep. 20, 2021
Dermatologist Dr. Sandra Lee talks socially distanced patients through doing the icky part themselves in the new quarantine-era spinoff “Dr. Pimple Popper: Before the Pop.”
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 28, 2020
Dermatologist Min Pok-kee, who leads the public health strategy in Daegu, South Korea, as a volunteer civil servant, outlines the country’s aggressive response to COVID-19 and his worries about the US and UK approach.
From Nature • Mar. 30, 2020
Is it possible that posterity will know me as Bayliss the Dermatologist?
From Piccadilly Jim by Wodehouse, P. G. (Pelham Grenville)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
