lanugo

[ luh-noo-goh, -nyoo- ]
/ ləˈnu goʊ, -ˈnyu- /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR lanugo ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural la·nu·gos. Biology.

a coat of delicate, downy hairs, especially that with which the human fetus or a newborn infant is covered.

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Origin of lanugo

1670–80; < Latin lānūgō wooliness, down, derivative of lāna wool

Words nearby lanugo

lanthanum, lanthorn, lantsang, lanuginose, lanuginous, lanugo, lanyard, lanza, lanzarote, lanzhou, lanús
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to lanugo

lint, down, fiber, fur, hair, nap, pile, floss

Example sentences from the Web for lanugo

  • Man comes into the world covered almost entirely with lanugo or short fine hair.

    The Races of Man|Joseph Deniker

  • I have included the down on the human body and the lanugo on the foetus as a rudimentary representation of a hairy coat.

    More Letters of Charles Darwin Volume II|Charles Darwin

British Dictionary definitions for lanugo

lanugo
/ (ləˈnjuːɡəʊ) /

noun plural -gos

a layer of fine hairs, esp the covering of the human fetus before birth

Derived forms of lanugo

lanuginous (ləˈnjuːdʒɪnəs) or lanuginose, adjectivelanuginousness, noun

Word Origin for lanugo

C17: from Latin: down, from lāna wool
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for lanugo

lanugo
[ lə-nōō′gō, ]

n. pl. la•nu•gos

The fine, soft hair that grows on a fetus and is present on a newborn.lanugo hair
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Scientific definitions for lanugo

lanugo
[ lə-nōō′gō ]

A covering of fine, soft hair or hairlike structures, as on a leaf, insect, or human fetus.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.