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lanugo

American  
[luh-noo-goh, -nyoo-] / ləˈnu goʊ, -ˈnju- /

noun

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


lanugo British  
/ ləˈnjuːɡəʊ, ləˈnjuːdʒɪnəs /

noun

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

"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

lanugo Scientific  
/ lə-no̅o̅gō /
  1. A covering of fine, soft hair or hairlike structures, as on a leaf, insect, or human fetus.


Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

Etymology

Origin of lanugo

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

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.

See Examples For:

The fuzz with which some babies are born is called lanugo.

From Washington Post Jun. 23, 2022

In the beginning of life, there was you and your lanugo.

From Slate Sep. 24, 2014

Like ringed seals, newborn ribbon seals have a coat of lanugo and cannot survive submersion in icy water until after they’ve formed the blubber layer.

From Washington Times Jul. 11, 2014

A silky hair called lanugo also covers the skin during weeks 17–20, but it is shed as the fetus continues to grow.

From Textbooks Jun. 19, 2013

Brandt compared the hair from the face of a man thus characterized, aged thirty-five, with the lanugo of a fœtus, and finds it quite similar in texture.

From Was Man Created? by Mott, Henry A. (Henry Augustus)

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