keratinous

[ kuh-rat-n-uhs ]

adjective

1. composed of or resembling keratin; horny.

Word History and Origins

Origin of keratinous¹

First recorded in 1895–1900; keratin + -ous

Example Sentences

He thinks they are a different kind of keratinous covering, though he agrees they were probably spectacularly colored.

From Science Magazine

Baleen is a unique keratinous oral tissue, made up of the same protein in human fingernails, that can be found on the jaws of large whales.

From Salon

The team’s scans revealed roughened patches of bone particularly rich in blood vessels—the same sort of features that underlie the keratinous sheath that makes up the beaks of modern-day birds—near the tips of Ichthyornis’s upper and lower jaws, Bhullar says.

From Scientific American

For instance, it seems likely that if the birds’ beaks are elongating, then they would also be experiencing changes to their skulls, as well as the keratinous sheath that covers the beak.

From National Geographic

It is quite common, however, for microsaur unguals to be pointed and be of a form that might be expected to support a keratinous claw.

From Scientific American