Callus
/ˈkæl.əs/noun
A thickened area of skin formed in response to repeated friction or pressure.
Did you know?Callus comes from Latin *callus*, meaning “hard skin” or “hardness,” and the same ancient root also gave English a word for “hard” in a very different sense: *callous*.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*kal-
“to be hard, strong, or firm”
Latin
Latin
callus
“hard skin; hardness”
Late Latin
Latin
callosus
“hardened, thick-skinned”
Old French
Old French
callos
“hardened skin”
Middle English
English
callus
“a hard patch of skin”