Hypoderms

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Layers of supporting tissue lying just beneath the outer epidermis of plants or the cuticle of arthropods
2. Sheets of cells found directly under the skin-like outer covering of certain plants and invertebrates
3. Underlying tissue layers that sit immediately below the epidermis, especially in insects and other arthropods

Etymology: "Hypoderms" is the plural of "hypoderm," a noun for the layer of cells lying just beneath the protective outer covering of certain plants and invertebrates. The word is built from two Greek-derived elements: "hypo-," meaning "under" or "beneath," and "-derm," from Greek "derma," meaning "skin." Put together, the name describes exactly what the tissue is: the skin's underlayer. The pattern is a familiar one in scientific vocabulary, where Greek parts are combined to name anatomical structures. The same "-derm" element appears in words such as "epiderm" (the outer layer) and "dermis," so "hypoderm" fits into a set of related terms for the layers of skin-like tissue. Because it is a technical coinage built from classical parts, its meaning follows directly from those parts rather than from any change in sense over time.

Synonyms: hypodermis