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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

vernix en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • /ˈvɝnɪks/ (US)
  • /ˈvɜːnɪks/ (UK)

Etymology

Derived from Medieval Latin vernix (“varnish”).

Meanings

  1. (uncountable) Vernix caseosa; a fatty deposit covering the skin of newborn babies.
    • But when – like Troy in the end of the film – you are presented for the first time with an angry, purple, bloody, vernix-covered, shit-smeared, breathing human being, everything changes. 2009 November 7, Sam Leith, The Guardian:
    • The cheesy stuff is called vernix, and it's a natural moisturizer that protects the baby's skin while she's in the womb. 2004, Armin A Brott, The New Father, Mitchell Beazley, published 2011, page 21: