callus
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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Etymology
Pronunciation
Noun
callus (plural calluses or calli)
- A hardened area of the skin (especially on the foot or hand) caused by repeated friction, wear or use.
- 2011, David Foster Wallace, The Pale King, page 17:
- Sylvanshine had once been on a first date with a Xerox rep who had complex and slightly repulsive patterns of callus on her fingers from playing the banjo semi-professionally
- The material of repair in fractures of bone; a substance exuded at the site of fracture, which is at first soft or cartilaginous in consistency, but is ultimately converted into true bone and unites the fragments into a single piece.
- (botany) The new formation over the end of a cutting, before it puts out rootlets.
- (botany) In orchids, a fleshy outgrowth from the labellum.
- (botany) In grasses, a hardened extension from the base of a floret, which may or may not elongate and is often covered in hairs or bristles.
- (entomology) A shining area on the frons of many species of Tabanomorpha (horse flies and relatives).
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
hardened part of the skin
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Verb
callus (third-person singular simple present calluses, present participle callusing, simple past and past participle callused)
- (intransitive) To form such hardened tissue.
Translations
Anagrams
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