promontory

What it means

1. A high point of land extending into a body of water, headland; cliff.

   2 more examples

   Leaving behind us the town at the bottom of its deep bay, we set out to explore a bluff-headed parallelogramical promontory, bounded by Thurso Bay on the one hand, and Murkle Bay on the other, and which presents to the open sea, in the space that stretches between, an undulating line of iron-bound coast, exposed to the roll of the northern ocean.

   1857, Hugh Miller, The Cruise of the Betsey

   South of Hang-chou Wan (Bay) below Shanghai, the China coastline changes from a smooth, flat topography to one of irregular, rocky promontories and numerous islands. Foochow, the Fugiu of Marco Polo, dates from the seventh century. Offshore the Ma-tsu Lieh-tao (Matsu and Pei-kan, or Changshu Islands) are heavily fortified Nationalist strongholds.

   1970, Ken Fitzgerald, The Space Age Photographic Atlas, Crown Publishers, page 196

   Synonyms: cliff, headland, hoe, bluff

2. A projecting part of the body.
   1. anatomyA projection on the sacrum.
   2. anatomyA rounded elevation in the tympanum of the ear.

In a sentence

Leaving behind us the town at the bottom of its deep bay, we set out to explore a bluff-headed parallelogramical promontory, bounded by Thurso Bay on the one hand, and Murkle Bay on the other, and which presents to the open sea, in the space that stretches between, an undulating line of iron-bound coast, exposed to the roll of the northern ocean.

1857, Hugh Miller, The Cruise of the Betsey

Where it comes from

1. Proto-Indo-European*men-“to stand out”
2. Medieval Latinprōmontōrium
3. Englishpromontory

From Medieval Latin prōmontōrium, from prōmineō, from prō- + *mineō (“to project or jut”, from Proto-Indo-European *men- (“to stand out”)) + -tōrium (“place”).