lanugo

American  

[luh-noo-goh, -nyoo-] / ləˈnu goʊ, -ˈnyu- /

noun

Biology.

plural

lanugos

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

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lanugo British  

/ ləˈnjuːɡəʊ, ləˈnjuːdʒɪnəs /

noun

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

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lanugo Scientific  

/ lə-no̅o̅′gō /

1. A covering of fine, soft hair or hairlike structures, as on a leaf, insect, or human fetus.

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Other Word Forms

• lanuginous adjective
• lanuginousness noun

Etymology

Origin of lanugo

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

Example Sentences

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

So it happens that at birth the infant's hair is a queerly irregular growth, a mixture of what is left of the general lanugo development, and the localized patches of the more human hair.

From The Glands Regulating Personality by Berman, Louis, M.D.

Related Words

• lint