Onychodystrophy
/ˌɒnɪkoʊˈdɪstrəfi/noun
Abnormal development or growth of the nails.
Did you know?This medical term is built from Greek roots: onyx/onych- for “nail” and dystrophia for “bad nourishment” or “abnormal growth,” and that same dyst- element also appears in words like disaster and dystopia, both carrying a sense of something gone wrong.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Gk
ὄνυξ (onyx), ὄνυχος (onychos)
“nail, claw”
Ancient Greek
Gk
δυστροφία (dystrophia)
“bad nourishment; abnormal growth”
Late Latin / Medical Latin
Lat
onychodystrophia
“abnormal nail growth or development”
19th–20th Century
Eng
onychodystrophy
“medical term for abnormal development of the nails”