Dermabrasions

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Procedures in which the outer layer of skin is mechanically sanded away to smooth scars, lines, or uneven texture
2. Surgical treatments that remove the top layers of skin with a rotating abrasive tool to improve its appearance
3. Cosmetic or medical operations that abrade the epidermis to reduce acne scarring, wrinkles, and other surface irregularities

Etymology: "Dermabrasions" is the plural of "dermabrasion," a medical term for the procedure of removing the outer layers of skin by abrading it, usually with a rotating wire brush or abrasive wheel. The word is built from two parts: "derm-," from Greek "derma," meaning skin, and "abrasion," from Latin "abrasio," a scraping off, from "abradere," to scrape away. Put together, the term describes a scraping away of skin. The plural simply counts separate procedures or cases, as in a clinic reporting several dermabrasions in a month. Because the word is a modern technical compound, it reflects the medical vocabulary built from classical roots rather than anything used by the ancient Greeks or Romans.