Squamulose

[Dr. Goodword]

• squamulose •

Pronunciation: skway-myê-los • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Adjective

Meaning: Covered with very small scales (squamules).

Notes: The technical term for very small scales is squamules, and today's Good Word is the adjective for this word, created by adding the rather uncommon suffix -ose. Be sure not to confuse it with the much more common -ous. You might try squamulosity to express scaliness involving very small scales; it's less awkward than squamuloseness.

In Play: This is the word to use in discussions about very, very small scales: "Sean discovered that butterfly wings under the microscope are squamulose, covered with tiny imbricated squamules." Of course, size is relative: "Faye Sliff tried every kind of medication to soothe and smooth her squamulose legs but nothing worked."

Word History: Today's word is Latin squamula "a small scale", the diminutive of squama "scale", plus the suffix -ose "having (many)". This suffix is found more often among scientific words than in words in the general vocabulary. The root of squama was apparently derived somehow from squalus "salt water fish", which was also used as an adjective meaning "filthy, slimy". The adjective allowed for a feminine form squala, though not squama. The root of squalus began with a Fickle S that didn't make it to English, where the same root emerged as whale. How could this word be related to squalor "filth"? Well, in Latin it originally meant "roughness", a quality often found on the sides of scaly fish. (It is time to remove any scales from our eyes and express our gratitude to Raven Edwards for suggesting today's Good Word.)

[George Kovac]

“Squamous” is another member of this word family, familiar to Floridians concerned about excessive exposure to UV rays from all this sunshine. Some folks are susceptible to developing “squamous cell skin cancer.”

As to the rarity of the “-ose” suffix, I mildly demur. “Verbose” is a familiar example. And then there is “otiose,” a delightful but concededly a rare word, and one I have been eager to use. (See the Goodword of November 25, 2011) OK, that one was a stretch.

BTW, kudos to Dr. Goodword for slyly working in an apt reference to Acts 9:18. So, if we are crafting religious metaphors involving scales, I would like to imbricate (See the Goodword of August 18, 2014) into this discussion a quote from the late Christopher Hitchens: “In that region [Skopje], yesterday as today, allegiance to the Church was more than a merely confessional matter. It was, and is, imbricated with a series of loyalties to nation, region, and even party.”