squamous

[ skwey-muhs ]

/ ˈskweɪ məs /

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adjective

covered with or formed of squamae; scaly.

like a scale.

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Also squamosal, squa·mose

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

Origin of squamous

First recorded in 1535–45; from Latin squāmōsus “covered with scales, scaly”; see squama, -ous

OTHER WORDS FROM squamous

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

Words nearby squamous

squamiform, Squamish, squamo-, squamosa, squamosal, squamous, squamous cell, squamous cell carcinoma, squamous epithelium, squamous metaplasia, squamous metaplasia of amnion

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use squamous in a sentence

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
Caihua Liang, et al. “A Population-Based Case-Control Study of Marijuana Use and Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma.”
Is Pot Good for Lungs? New Marijuana Study Adds to Health-Effects Debate|Anneli Rufus|January 14, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Rather striking is the tendency of old squamous cells to retain the red stain, and fragments of such cells may mislead the unwary.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
How are you to distinguish the papulo-squamous syphiloderm from psoriasis?
Essentials of Diseases of the Skin|Henry Weightman Stelwagon

A mesothelial cell is very flattened, thus resembling a squamous epithelial cell.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 6|Various
In what respects does the papulo-squamous syphiloderm differ from psoriasis?
Essentials of Diseases of the Skin|Henry Weightman Stelwagon
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 forms of squamous

squamously 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

Medical definitions for squamous

squamous

[ skwā′məs, skwä′- ]

adj.

Covered with or formed of scales; scaly.

Resembling a scale or scales; thin and flat.

Squamosal.