Psilous
/ˈsaɪ.ləs/noun
Lacking hair, scales, or other surface covering; smooth or bare.
Did you know?The related plant genus Psilotum—whose name also means “bare”—was named for its unusually simple, leafless appearance, making “psilous” a genuine word of botanical mystery rather than occult invention.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
ψιλός (psilós)
“Bare, naked, smooth, or stripped of covering”
Hellenistic Greek
Greek
ψιλόω (psilóō)
“To make bare, strip, or denude”
Late Greek
Greek
ψίλωσις (psílōsis)
“A making bare or loss of hair”
19th Century
Scientific English
psilous
“Bare, smooth, or without hairs, scales, or other covering”
Modern English
English
psilous
“A specialized descriptive term used chiefly in biology and medicine for something hairless or naked”
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