Library / English Dictionary

CALLUS

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected form: calli   

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

(botany) an isolated thickening of tissue, especially a stiff protuberance on the lip of an orchid

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Hypernyms ("callus" is a kind of...):

enation; plant process (a natural projection or outgrowth from a plant body or organ)

Domain category:

botany; phytology (the branch of biology that studies plants)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Bony tissue formed during the healing of a fractured bone

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("callus" is a kind of...):

cicatrice; cicatrix; scar (a mark left (usually on the skin) by the healing of injured tissue)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "callus"):

chestnut (a small horny callus on the inner surface of a horse's leg)

Sense 3

Meaning:

An area of skin that is thick or hard from continual pressure or friction (as the sole of the foot)

Synonyms:

callosity; callus

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("callus" is a kind of...):

hardening (abnormal hardening or thickening of tissue)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "callus"):

clavus; corn (a hard thickening of the skin (especially on the top or sides of the toes) caused by the pressure of ill-fitting shoes)

Derivation:

callus (form a callus or calluses)

callus (cause a callus to form on)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Form a callus or calluses

Example:

His foot callused

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "callus" is one way to...):

harden; indurate (become hard or harder)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

callus (an area of skin that is thick or hard from continual pressure or friction (as the sole of the foot))

Sense 2

Meaning:

Cause a callus to form on

Example:

The long march had callused his feet

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "callus" is one way to...):

harden; indurate (make hard or harder)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Derivation:

callus (an area of skin that is thick or hard from continual pressure or friction (as the sole of the foot))

Credits

 Context examples: 

While bathing, gently rub the corn or callus with a washcloth or pumice stone to help reduce the size.

(Corns and Calluses, NIH: National Institute on Aging)