epidermis

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin epidermis, from Ancient Greek ἐπιδερμίς (epidermís), ἐπί (epí, “on top of”) + δέρμα (dérma, “skin”). Equivalent to epi- +‎ dermis.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌɛp.ɪˈdɜː.mɪs/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˌɛp.əˈdɝ.mɪs/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˌep.ɪˈdɜː.mɪs/

Noun

epidermis (plural epidermides or epidermises)

1. The outer, protective layer of the skin of vertebrates, covering the dermis
2. The similar outer layer of cells in invertebrates and plants

Synonyms

• cuticle

Derived terms

• epidermal
• epidermic
• epidermoid
• epidermology
• neoepidermis
• subepidermis

Translations

skin's outer layer in animals

• Arabic: بشرَة f (bašara)
• Bulgarian: епидермис m (epidermis)
• Catalan: epidermis (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 表皮 (zh) (biǎopí)

• Czech: pokožka (cs) f
• Dutch: opperhuid (nl) f or m
• Esperanto: epidermo
• Finnish: orvaskesi (fi)
• French: épiderme (fr) m
• Galician: epiderme (gl) f
• German: Oberhaut f, Epidermis (de) f
• Greek: επιδερμίδα (el) f (epidermída)
• Hungarian: epidermisz (hu), felhám (hu)
• Ido: epidermo (io)
• Italian: epidermide (it) f
• Japanese: 表皮 (ja) (hyōhi)
• Kazakh: эпидерма (épiderma)
• Korean: 표피 (pyopi)
• Latin: epidermis f
• Lithuanian: epidermis m
• Māori: kiritai, kiriwaho
• Polish: naskórek (pl) m
• Portuguese: epiderme (pt) f
• Romanian: epidermă (ro) f
• Russian: эпиде́рма (ru) f (epidérma), эпиде́рмис (ru) m (epidérmis)
• Scottish Gaelic: cneas m, far-chraiceann m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: по̀кожица f

  Latin: pòkožica (sh) f

• Spanish: epidermis (es) f
• Swedish: överhud (sv), epidermis (sv)
• Telugu: బహిశ్చర్మము (bahiścarmamu), బాహ్యచర్మము (bāhyacarmamu)
• Thai: หนังกำพร้า (nạngkảphr̂ā)
• Turkish: üst deri (tr), epiderm (tr)
• Vietnamese: ngoại bì
• Welsh: epidermis (cy) m, argroen m, uwchgroen m

plant's outer layer

• Czech: pokožka (cs) f
• Esperanto: epidermo
• Finnish: epidermi (fi), päällysketto
• German: Epidermis (de) f
• Greek: επιδερμίδα (el) f (epidermída)
• Hungarian: epidermisz (hu)
• Ido: epidermo (io)
• Italian: epidermide (it) f
• Kazakh: өң (kk) (öñ)
• Māori: kiriwaho
• Polish: blaszka (pl) f
• Romanian: epidermă (ro) f
• Scottish Gaelic: cneas m
• Tagalog: balat-ugat, balatpuno, balatdahon
• Turkish: epidermis (tr)

See also

• epithelium

Catalan

Pronunciation

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

Noun

epidermis f (invariable)

1. (anatomy) epidermis

Derived terms

• dermis

Related terms

• epidèrmic

Further reading

• “epidermis”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “epidermis”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “epidermis” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “epidermis”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan)

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin epidermis, from Ancient Greek ἐπιδερμίς (epidermís).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌeː.piˈdɛr.mɪs/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: epi‧der‧mis

Noun

epidermis f (plural epidermissen or epidermes, no diminutive)

1. (anatomy) epidermis

   Synonym: opperhuid

Latin

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἐπιδερμίς (epidermís), from ἐπί (epí, “on top of”) + δέρμα (dérma, “skin”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ɛ.pɪˈdɛr.mɪs]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [e.piˈdɛr.mis]

Noun

epidermis f (genitive epidermidis); third declension

1. epidermis, cuticle, surface skin

Declension

Third-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	epidermis	epidermidēs
genitive	epidermidis	epidermidum
dative	epidermidī	epidermidibus
accusative	epidermidem	epidermidēs
ablative	epidermide	epidermidibus
vocative	epidermis	epidermidēs

Related terms

• dermis

Descendants

• English: epidermis

References

• “epidermis”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “epidermis”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /epiˈdeɾmis/ [e.piˈð̞eɾ.mis]
• Rhymes: -eɾmis
• Syllabification: e‧pi‧der‧mis

Noun

epidermis f (plural epidermis)

1. (anatomy) epidermis

Derived terms

• dermis

Related terms

• epidérmico

Further reading

• “epidermis”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Welsh

Etymology

Borrowed from English epidermis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌɛpɪˈdɛrmɪs/

Noun

epidermis m

1. epidermis

   Synonyms: argroen, uwchgroen

Mutation

Mutated forms of epidermis

radical	soft	nasal	h-prothesis
epidermis	unchanged	unchanged	hepidermis

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Further reading

• D. G. Lewis, N. Lewis, editors (2005–present), “epidermis”, in Gweiadur: the Welsh–English Dictionary, Gwerin
• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke, et al., editors (1950–present), “epidermis”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies