dandruff

English

Alternative forms

• dandriff (rare)

Etymology

The word is first attested in 1545; the first element is obscure, but compare Yorkshire dialect, dander (skin scurf). The second element derives from a Northumbrian or East Anglian term huff or hruff, hurf (“scab”), from Old Norse hrufa. Compare Dutch roof, Luxembourgish Roff. Related with Proto-Germanic *hreubaz, *hreufaz (“rough, scabby”), source of Old English hrēofla (“leprosy, leper”). More at reef (etymology 3).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈdændɹʌf/, /ˈdændɹʊf/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

Noun

dandruff (usually uncountable, plural dandruffs)

1. scaly white dead skin flakes from the human scalp; Pityriasis capitis

   Dandruff is on my collar again.

Derived terms

• antidandruff
• dander
• dandruffy
• devil's dandruff
• ocean dandruff

Translations

skin flakes

• Abaza: хъа́пӏа (qápʼa)
• Abkhaz: ақырц (akərc), ачхәы (ačxʷə)
• Adyghe: кхъапӏэ (qχapʼɛ)
• Afrikaans: skilfers
• Ainu: レタッツ゚ル
• Albanian: vrokth (sq) m, zbokth (sq) m, hedhe f
• Amharic: ፎሮፎር (forofor)
• Arabic: قِشْرَة الرَّأْس f (qišra(t) ar-raʔs)

  Egyptian Arabic: قشرة f (ʔešra)

  Hijazi Arabic: قِشْرة f (gišra)

  Moroccan Arabic: قَشرة f (qašra), قُشرة f (qušra)

• Aragonese: mollisca f
• Aramaic:

  Syriac: ܪܳܨܺܝܢܽܘܬܳܐ

• Armenian: թեփ (hy) (tʻepʻ)
• Asi: arik-ik
• Assamese: উফি (uphi)
• Asturian: caspa (ast) f, faílla (ast) f
• Avar: бакълачӏин (baqxʼlačʼin), хӏабатӏ (ḥʳabatʼ), хир (xir)
• Azerbaijani: kəpək, ərp (az), qovaq (az), dongra (dialectal)
• Bashkir: ҡауаҡ (qawaq)
• Basque: zahi, zolda (eu)
• Belarusian: пе́рхаць f (pjérxacʹ)
• Bengali: খুশকি (bn) (khuśoki), মরামাস (bn) (moramaś)
• Bikol Central: kulisap (bcl), kaspa, daki (bcl)
• Breton: kenn, skant
• Bulgarian: пъ́рхот m (pǎ́rhot), пъ́ршей m (pǎ́ršej) (dialectal)
• Burmese: ဒက် (my) (dak), ဗောက် (my) (bauk)
• Carpathian Rusyn: парплї (parplji), порплї (porplji)
• Catalan: caspa (ca) f, arna (ca) f (Balearic)
• Cebuano: kaspa
• Chavacano: kaspa, caspa
• Chechen: чич (čič)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 頭皮屑／头皮屑 (tau⁴ pei⁴ sit³), 頭皮／头皮 (tau⁴ pei⁴)

  Dungan: быйпи (bɨypi), фупи (fupi)

  Eastern Min: 白㾀 (băh-kē̤), 㾀 (kē̤)

  Gan: 頭殼／头壳 (Taining)

  Hakka: 頭皮／头皮 (thèu-phì)

  Hokkien: 頭麩／头麸 (zh-min-nan) (thâu-pho͘); 頭殼／头壳 (zh-min-nan) (Leizhou)

  Mandarin: 頭皮屑／头皮屑 (zh) (tóupíxiè), 頭皮／头皮 (zh) (tóupí)

  Wu: 頭皮屑／头皮屑 (⁶deu-bi-shiq); 風屑／风屑 (¹fon-shiq)

• Chuvash: лӗкӗ (lĕk̬ĕ)
• Cimbrian: grüssa f
• Corsican: forfula f
• Crimean Tatar: кепек, kepek
• Czech: lupy (cs) m pl
• Danish: skæl n
• Dutch: roos (nl) f, hoofdroos (nl) f, pellekes f (Brabantian)
• Emilian: sgaramòffia f (Bolognese)
• Erzya: лав (lav)
• Esperanto: haŭtero
• Estonian: kõõm
• Evenki: экэри (əkəri)
• Faroese: flus n, skóv f
• Finnish: hilse (fi), hilseily (fi), kehnä
• French: pellicules (fr) f pl
• Friulian: schelfe f
• Gagauz: konak
• Galician: caspa (gl) f, carepa f, faísca (gl) f, feila (gl) f, foula (gl) f, freila (gl) f, ceila f
• Georgian: ქერტლი (kerṭli), თებო (tebo)
• German: Kopfschuppen f pl, Schuppen (de) f pl, Hautschuppe f, Schorf (de) m (informal), Schmelzflocken f pl
• Greek: πιτυρίδα (el) f (pityrída)

  Ancient: ἄχωρ m (ákhōr)

• Greenlandic: qaqortualuk
• Hawaiian: kēpia
• Hebrew: קשקשים (kaskasin), קַשְׂקֶשֶׂת (he) f (kaskéset)
• Hiligaynon: adíkdik, alíkdik
• Hindi: रूसी (hi) (rūsī), रुसी (rusī)
• Hungarian: korpa (hu)
• Icelandic: flasa (is) f
• Ido: squameto (io)
• Ilocano: lasi
• Indonesian: kêtombé (id), bêrkêtombé, kelemumur (id)
• Ingrian: pilpa
• Ingush: чич (čič), керта чич (kerta čič)
• Interlingua: furfure
• Irish: sail chnis
• Italian: forfora (it) f
• Japanese: 雲脂 (ja) (ふけ, fuke), 頭垢 (ja) (ふけ, fuke)
• Kabyle: taslest, tinesnest
• Karachay-Balkar: габу (gabu)
• Karelian: köyhen
• Kashubian: pierzch m
• Kazakh: қайызғақ (qaiyzğaq)
• Khmer: អង្គែ (km) (ʼɑngkɛɛ)
• Komi-Permyak: киль (kiľ)
• Korean: 비듬 (ko) (bideum)
• Kumyk: бугъакъ (buğaq)
• Kunigami: 鱗 (いりちー, irichii)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: کِڕێش (kirrêş), کِڕێژ (kirrêj)

  Southern Kurdish: کِڕاشک (kirraşk)

• Kyrgyz: какач (ky) (kakac)
• Ladin: parpaiola f
• Lak: чӏачаран (čʼačaran)
• Lao: ຂີ້ຫົວ (khī hūa)
• Latgalian: plauki m pl
• Latin: porrīgō f
• Latvian: blaugzna f
• Laz: kartu
• Leonese: caspia f
• Lezgi: хъуьр (qür), гецӏ (gec̣)
• Ligurian: furfure f (Monegasque)
• Limburgish: roes (li)
• Lithuanian: pleiskana f
• Lombard: röfa f
• Luxembourgish: Schubber
• Macedonian: пр́вут m (pŕvut)
• Malagasy: angadrano (mg)
• Malay: kelemumur (ms)
• Manx: cuddym, far-scryss
• Maori: maihi, māungaunga, inaho, pakitea
• Mari:

  Eastern: лыге (lyge)

  Western: лӹгӹ (lÿgÿ)

• Middle English: brā̆n, furfur
• Mingrelian: ქერცი (kerci), ქერცა (kerca)
• Mirandese: falhisca f
• Moksha: лав (lav)
• Mongolian: үсний хаг (üsnii xag), хаг (mn) (xag)

  Mongolian: ᠬᠠᠭ (qag)

• Nahuatl: cuatenextli, cuāzōcyō
• Navajo: tsiitł'óół
• Nepali: चाया (ne) (cāyā)
• Nogai: кайызгак (kayızgak)
• Norman: crache f (Jersey)
• North Frisian: Skolp n (Silt)
• Northern Sotho: lehlono
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: flass n

  Nynorsk: flass n

• Okinawan: 鱗 (いりち, irichi)
• Old High German: hruf f
• Old Tupi: 'apiku'i
• Oroqen: alʊkta
• Ossetian: кӕнк (kænk)
• Palauan: chelechelóul
• Pashto: دسر پخه
• Persian: شوره سر (šure-ye sar), شوره (fa) (šure)
• Piedmontese: furfa f, forfa f, fòrfora f
• Plautdietsch: Schenn n
• Polish: łupież (pl) m
• Portuguese: caspa (pt) f
• Punjabi: ਕਰ੍ਹ (karh), ਸਿੱਕਰੀ (pa) (sikkarī)
• Quechua: qara pʼaspa
• Rapa Nui: raha
• Rarotongan: paku
• Romanian: mătreață (ro)
• Romansch: crappagls m pl, stgalias f or pl
• Russian: пе́рхоть (ru) f (pérxotʹ)
• Rwanda-Rundi: imvuvu (Rwanda)
• Saami:

  Inari: konnâ

  Kildin: кэ̄нн (kēnn)

  Lule: gadna

  Northern: gatna

  Pite: gadna

  Skolt: kõnn

  Southern: gïtne

• Sango: nzombö (sg)
• Sanskrit: दारुणा (sa) (dāruṇā)
• Santali: ᱩᱯᱭᱟᱺᱥ (upyẵs)
• Sardinian: tizòla f
• Scots: kell, scruif
• Scottish Gaelic: eanach f, sgailc-mhullaich f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: пе̏рӯт m, пе̏рӯт f

  Roman: pȅrūtm (sh), pȑhūt (sh) f

• Shona: makwenu
• Sicilian: canigghiola (scn) f
• Sinhalese: ඉස්හොරි (ishori)
• Slovak: lupina f
• Slovene: prhljaj (sl) m
• Somali: toxob
• Sorbian:

  Lower: spjerchlina f

  Upper: pjerchizna f

• Spanish: caspa (es) f
• Sundanese: kotombé, totombé
• Svan: ქა̈რჩ (kärč)
• Swahili: mba (sw) class 9, uyabisi class 11
• Swedish: mjäll (sv) n
• Tabasaran: гацӏ (gac̣)
• Tagalog: balakubak, kulisap (tl) (eastern Marinduque), dalikdik (western Marinduque)
• Tamil: பொடுகு (ta) (poṭuku)
• Tatar: кавык (tt) (qawıq), баш кавыгы (baş qawığı)

  Latin: qawıq

• Telugu: చుండ్రు (te) (cuṇḍru)
• Ternate: booca
• Thai: ขี้รังแค (kîi-rang-kɛɛ), รังแค (th) (rang-kɛɛ)
• Tibetan: ཀོག་ཤི (kog shi), སྐོག་སྐྱི (skog skyi)
• Tigrinya: ፎሮፎር (forofor)
• Turkish: kepek (tr)
• Turkmen: goňak
• Udmurt: киль (kiľ), лом (lom) (dialectal), лыгы (lygy) (dialectal)
• Ukrainian: лупа́ f (lupá)
• Unami: òlèkw inan
• Urdu: دیوار (devār), روسی (rūsī)
• Uyghur: كېپەك (këpek)
• Vietnamese: gàu (vi)
• Võro: koomõq
• Welsh: cen pen m, marwdon f or m
• West Flemish: pellekes f
• West Frisian: roas m or f
• Xhosa: inkwethu
• Yakut: хоҕоһо (qoğoho)
• Yiddish: שופּן n pl (shupn)
• Yogad: kugipa
• Yucatec Maya: ta’ pool

Verb

dandruff (third-person singular simple present dandruffs, present participle dandruffing, simple past and past participle dandruffed)

1. To fall or cover with white flakes, like dandruff.
   • 2014, Kaethe Schwehn, Tailings: A Memoir, page 82:

     The toaster is broken and salt is dandruffing my wool sweater.