brachycephalic

brach·y·ce·phal·ic
B3R1A1C3H4Y4C3E1P3H4A1L1I1C3
/ˌbɹæk.ɪ.səˈfæl.ɪk//ˌbɹæk.ɪ.kɛˈfæl.ɪk//ˌbɹæk.ɪˈsɛf.ə.lɪk/

adjective

Having a head that is short from front to back (relative to its width from left to right); having a broad skull with a cephalic index over 80.

Similar
Scrabble 33

Meanings

adjectivebrachycephalic (not comparable)

alternative brachykephalic

  1. not comparableanatomyHaving a head that is short from front to back (relative to its width from left to right); having a broad skull with a cephalic index over 80.

    "Round-headed," he muttered. "Brachycephalic, gray-eyed, black-haired, with suggestion of the negroid. Celtic, I presume?"

    1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC
    2 more examples

    Just how cosmopolitan the town was is clear from the fact that two different races are found buried in the graves: the dolichocephalic Eurafrican, and the brachycephalic Proto-Mediterranean.

    1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 153

    Also a subject of extensive investigation was the cephalic index, a measurement of the general shape of the skull, defined as the ratio of its breadth to its length multiplied by one hundred to eliminate the decimal point. Ratios below seventy-five indicated skulls that were long and narrow, termed “dolichocephalic”; those between seventy-five and eight, slightly broader or “mesocephalic”; and even rounder heads with ratios above eighty were called “brachycephalic.”

    1996, William H. Tucker, The Science and Politics of Racial Research, University of Illinois Press, →ISBN, page 23

    Synonyms: brachycephalous, brachycranial, brachycranic, brachykephalous, broad-headed, roundheaded, short-headed · Antonyms: dolichocephalic, dolichocephalous, long-headed

nounbrachycephalic (plural brachycephalics or brachycephali)

plural brachycephalics · plural brachycephali · alternative brachykephalic

  1. A brachycephalic person or creature; someone with a short, broad skull, typically indicated by a cephalic index over 80.

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveHaving a head that is short from front to back (relative to its width from left to right); having a broad skull with a cephalic index over 80.

Similar
brachycephalousbrachycranialbrachycranicbrachykephalousbroad-headedroundheadedshort-headed

More synonyms by meaning

adjectivehaving a short broad head with a cephalic index of over 80

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekβραχυκέφαλος
  2. New Latinbrachycephalus
  3. Englishbrachycephalic

From brachy- + cephalic, literally “short-headed”, via New Latin brachycephalus, from Ancient Greek βραχυκέφαλος (brakhuképhalos), from βραχύς (brakhús, “short”) + κεφαλή (kephalḗ, “head”).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan braquicèfal
  • braquicèfalhaving a head that is short from front to back
Finnish lyhytkalloinen
  • lyhytkalloinenhaving a head that is short from front to back
French brachycéphale
  • brachycéphalehaving a head that is short from front to back
Italian brachicefalo
  • brachicefalohaving a head that is short from front to back
Portuguese braquicéfalo, braquicefálico
  • braquicéfalohaving a head that is short from front to back
  • braquicefálicohaving a head that is short from front to back
Romanian brahicefal
  • brahicefalhaving a head that is short from front to back
Spanish braquicéfalo
  • braquicéfalohaving a head that is short from front to back
Tagalog punggok-uluhin
  • punggok-uluhinhaving a head that is short from front to back
Cite this entry
APA

brachycephalic. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/brachycephalic

MLA

“brachycephalic.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/brachycephalic. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “brachycephalic,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/brachycephalic.

Source: brachycephalic on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.