derma

¹

[ dur-muh ]

noun

1. Anatomy, Zoology. dermis.

derma

²

[ dur-muh ]

noun

1. beef or fowl intestine used as a casing in preparing certain savory dishes, especially kishke.
2. kishke.

-derma

³

1. a combining form of derma ¹, used especially in the names of disorders of the skin:

   scleroderma; xeroderma.

derma

¹

/ ˈdɜːmə /

noun

1. beef or fowl intestine used as a casing for certain dishes, esp kishke

derma

²

/ ˈdɜːmə /

noun

1. another name for corium Alsodermdɜːm

Word History and Origins

Origin of derma¹

1825–35; New Latin < Greek dérma skin, equivalent to dér ( ein ) to skin + -ma noun suffix

Origin of derma²

< Yiddish derme, plural of darm intestine < Middle High German; akin to Old English thearm gut

Word History and Origins

Origin of derma¹

from Yiddish derme, plural of darm intestine, from Old High German daram; related to Old English thearm gut, Old Norse tharmr

Origin of derma²

C18: New Latin, from Greek: skin, from derein to skin

Example Sentences

“He has a lot of experience and it has made him tougher and tougher,” said Christophe Lemaire, who will ride Derma Sotogake.

From Seattle Times

Japan is represented by Derma Sotogake and Mandarin Hero, giving the nation two chances to win the Derby for the first time.

From Seattle Times

Derma Sotogake and Two Phil’s are the most experienced runners in the field, having made eight career starts.

From Seattle Times

Owner Hiroyuki Asanuma is a dermatologist in Hokkaido who uses the word derma as the first part of all his horses’ names.

From Seattle Times

Derma Sotogake is coming off a wire-to-wire victory by 5 1/2 lengths in the UAE Derby.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• bark
• coating
• crust
• fur
• husk
• jacket
• membrane
• rind
• sheath
• surface

Words That Use -derma

What does -derma mean?

The combining form -derma is used like a suffix representing the derma. The derma, also known as the dermis, is the dense inner layer of skin beneath the epidermis, which is the outermost (and thinner) part of the skin that we can see.

The form -derma is specifically used to name skin disorders and is used in many medical terms, especially in pathology. It ultimately comes from the Greek dérma, meaning “skin.”

As you may have already guessed, the Greek dérma is the source of the word derma itself. The word derma is sometimes used like a prefix or directly combined with other word forms, as in dermatherm and dermatome.

The combining form -derma is closely related to other combining forms dealing with various senses of “skin,” including -derm, -dermatous, -dermis, dermato-, dermat-, dermo-, and derm-.

Other variants of dermat- and dermato- are dermo- and derm-. Closely related to dermato- are the combining forms -derm, -derma, -dermatous, and -dermis. Learn more about their specific applications at our Words That Use articles for the forms.

Examples of -derma

One example of a medical term that features the combining form –derma is scleroderma, a disease where the connective tissue in the body becomes hardened and rigid.

The first part of the word, sclero-, means “hard.” The second part of the word, –derma, refers to a disease of the skin. Scleroderma literally translates to “hard skin disease.”

What are some words that use the combining form –derma?

• bromoderma
• hypoderma
• keratoderma
• leukoderma (formed in New Latin)
• melanoderma
• pachyderma
• poikiloderma
• pyoderma
• xanthoderma
• xeroderma

What are some other forms that –derma may be commonly confused with?

• demi-
• demo-
• demon-
• dendr-
• dento-
• spermat-
• sperm-

Break it down!

Given that pachy- means “thick,” what does the medical condition of pachyderma involve?