cuticle

From Middle French cuticule, from Latin cuticula (“cuticle, skin”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈkjuːtɪkəl/

• Audio (Southern England)

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• Rhymes: -ɪkəl

cuticle (plural cuticles)

1. The outermost layer of the skin of vertebrates; the epidermis.
2. The strip of hardened skin at the base and sides of a fingernail or toenail.
   • 1992, Toni Morrison, Jazz, Vintage (2016), page 38:

     By that time she has pushed back his cuticles, cleaned his nails and painted them with clear polish.

3. Dead or cornified epidermis.
4. (zoology, botany) A noncellular protective covering outside the epidermis of many invertebrates and plants.
5. A thin skin formed on the surface of a liquid.

• (zoology, botany) (outer protective covering): cuticula

• nail
• thumbnail
• toenail
• quick