cor·ni·fy

(kôr′nə-fī′)

intr.v. cor·ni·fied, cor·ni·fy·ing, cor·ni·fies

To undergo cornification.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

cornify

(ˈkɔːnɪˌfaɪ)

vb (intr) , -fies, -fying or -fied

(of soft tissue) to become converted into horn or hard tissue

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

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References in periodicals archive

From northern Europe, the word traveled south again to become a cognate of the Latin cornu, the basis for the English word for grains (and the specific version seen in Iowa), for several scientific words (e.g., cornicle, cornify, etc.), for the unicorn as a mythical beast, for the region of Capricorn in the zodiac, for the cornucopia, an object Americans associated with the Thanksgiving celebration, and for the musical bugle, akin to the cornet.

Out the bell: horn lore

Although squamous cells are thought to be precancerous, they are initially a response to injury: They "cornify," or interlock, to form a tough extra barrier against toxic exposures.

Scientists Zeroing in on a Cellular Pathway to Lung Cancer

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