cornification

[kawr-nuh-fi-key-shuh n]

noun Biology.

the formation of a horny layer of skin, or horny skin structures, as hair, nails, or scales, from squamous epithelial cells.

Origin of cornification

First recorded in 1835–45; corn² + -i- + -fication

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Nails arise in the interior of the epidermis by the thickening and cornification of the stratum lucidum.
The Vertebrate Skeleton
Sidney H. Reynolds

cornification in Medicine

(kôr′nə-fĭ-kā′shən)