Cellulite

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈsɛl.jʊ.laɪt/

Definitions

1. A cosmetic condition marked by the uneven, dimpled texture of the skin as a result of fat deposits beneath the surface
2. It refers to the skin appearance featuring lumps and bumps due to localized fat storage, primarily affecting the thighs and buttocks
3. A skin condition characterized by a dimpled appearance caused by subcutaneous fat deposits that often appears on the thighs and buttocks

Etymology: "Cellulite" was borrowed from French, where it is a modern coinage built from "cellule," meaning "small cell," and the suffix "-ite." The "-ite" ending is the same one found in medical terms for inflammation, which is why "cellulite" sounds like a relative of "cellulitis." The two words are in fact doublets, meaning they descend from the same root but took different paths into English and came to mean different things. The word "cellulitis" has been used in medicine for much longer, referring to an inflammation of the body's connective tissue. The fat-deposit sense of "cellulite" arrived much later, and the English term was first recorded in the 1960s. The dimpled appearance it describes was thus given a name only in the second half of the twentieth century, drawing on a French word that had been adapted from the medical vocabulary of the nineteenth century.

Synonyms: lumpy fat