corneal

The word 'corneal' is a modern anatomical adjective derived from the noun 'cornea'. The cornea itself takes its name from the Medieval Latin phrase cornea tela, meaning "horny tissue", because the transparent membrane at the front of the eye was thought to have a consistency similar to a thin layer of horn. The Latin root cornu, meaning "horn", can be traced back to the Proto-Indo-European root ker-, which also meant "horn" or "head". Over centuries, the descriptive term for a physical texture was specialized in medical Latin to refer specifically to this part of the eye, with the English suffix -al then added to form the adjective relating to it.

Structure: corne (horn-like substance) + al (adjective suffix) - corne: From Latin cornea (tela), meaning "horny (tissue)", from cornu (horn). - al: A suffix forming adjectives, from Latin -alis.