Corticated

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Possessing an outer layer that is similar to the protective covering found on trees
2. Characterized by an anatomical or structural coating that resembles bark
3. Having an external layer that resembles the bark seen on trees

Etymology: Latin "cortex" meant bark, the protective outer layer of a tree, and it could also mean the rind of a fruit or the husk of a seed. Adding the Latin adjective ending "-atus" produced "corticatus," meaning provided with a bark or bark-like covering. English took the adjective from this Latin base, and it keeps the tree-bark sense in its meaning. Anatomists later borrowed "cortex" for the outer layer of organs such as the brain and kidney, so the same root that describes bark now describes grey matter. The adjective stays closer to its botanical origins, describing things that have developed a hard, bark-like outer skin.