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callus

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Latin callum (“hard skin”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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callus (countable and uncountable, plural calluses or calli)

  1. 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
  2. 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.
  3. (botany) The new formation over the end of a cutting, before it puts out rootlets.
  4. (botany) In orchids, a fleshy outgrowth from the labellum.
  5. (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.
  6. (entomology) A shining area on the frons of many species of Tabanomorpha (horse flies and relatives).

Derived terms

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Translations

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Verb

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callus (third-person singular simple present calluses, present participle callusing, simple past and past participle callused)

  1. (intransitive) To form such hardened tissue.

Translations

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Anagrams

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