Etymograph

English

derma

Derma comes from Ancient Greek δέρμα ‘skin, hide’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *der- ‘to tear, tear apart’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*der-1‘to tear, tear apart’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*dérō1reconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδέρω2‘to skin, flay’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδέρμα3dérma‘skin, hide’
  5. New Latinc. 1500–1900derma3
  6. Englishtodayderma3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek δέρω
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek δέρμα
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English derma

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*der-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek δέρω‘to tear, tear apart’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*dérōWiktionary, Ancient Greek δέρωreconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδέρωWiktionary, Ancient Greek δέρμα‘to skin, flay’
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδέρμαWiktionary, English dermadérma‘skin, hide’
  5. New Latinc. 1500–1900dermaWiktionary, English derma
  6. EnglishtodaydermaWiktionary, English derma

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *der- ‘to tear, tear apart’

truck, tear, tart, turd, tirade, tarn, 18 more

through Ancient Greek δέρω ‘to skin, flay’

pander, 11 more

through Ancient Greek δέρμα ‘skin, hide’

dermis, 6 more

Another origin of derma

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*terh₁-‘to bore’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*þarmaz‘intestine’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*þarm‘intestine’reconstructed
  4. Old High Germanc. 750–1050darm
  5. Yiddishmodernדערמעderme
  6. Englishtodayderma

Today it means

noun The inner layer of the skin.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “derma”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek δέρω, Ancient Greek δέρμα. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *der- / derma

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