squamous

[ skwey-muh s ]

/ ˈskweɪ məs /

adjective

covered with or formed of squamae or scales.

scalelike.

Nearby words

Also squamosal, squa·mose

[skwey-mohs, skwuh-mohs] /ˈskweɪ moʊs, skwəˈmoʊs/.

Origin of squamous

From the Latin word squāmōsus, dating back to 1535–45. See squama, -ous

Related formssqua·mous·ly, squa·mose·ly, adverbsqua·mous·ness, squa·mose·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for squamous

And squamous cell carcinoma also develops under our fingernails.
‘Zoobiquity’: What Animals Can Teach Us About Our Health|Carl Zimmer|June 17, 2012|DAILY BEAST
How would you exclude psoriasis in a suspected case of eczema (squamous eczema)?
Essentials of Diseases of the Skin|Henry Weightman Stelwagon
The roots are squamous, sending forth few fibres, and are perennial.
The Mosaic History of the Creation of the World|Thomas Wood
The squamous or pavement epithelium consists of very thin, flattened scales, usually with a small nucleus in the center.
A Practical Physiology|Albert F. Blaisdell

A mesothelial cell is very flattened, thus resembling a squamous epithelial cell.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 6|Various
Chiefly with squamous eczema and the papulo-squamous syphiloderm; and on the scalp, also with seborrhœa.
Essentials of Diseases of the Skin|Henry Weightman Stelwagon

British Dictionary definitions for squamous

squamous

squamose (ˈskweɪməʊs)

/ (ˈskweɪməs) /

adjective biology

(of epithelium) consisting of one or more layers of flat platelike cells

covered with, formed of, or resembling scales

Derived Formssquamously or squamosely, adverbsquamousness or squamoseness, noun

Word Origin for squamous

C16: from Latin squāmōsus, from squāma a scale

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

Word Origin and History for squamous

squamous

adj.

1540s, from Latin squamosus "covered with scales, scaly," from squama "scale," perhaps related to squalus "foul, filthy" (see squalid). Middle English had squame (late 14c.) "a scale," from Old French esquame, from Latin squama.

Medicine definitions for squamous

squamous

[ skwā′məs, skwä′- ]

adj.

Covered with or formed of scales; scaly.

Resembling a scale or scales; thin and flat.

Squamosal.