basic substance of horns, nails, feathers, etc., 1848, from Greek keras (genitive keratos) "horn of an animal; horn as a substance" (from PIE root *ker- (1) "horn; head") + chemical suffix -in (2).
Kenya
kepi
kept
*ker-
ker-
keratin
kerato-
kerb
kerchief
*kerd-
kerfuffle