Meanings
plural condyles
- anatomyA smooth prominence on a bone where it forms a joint with another bone.
“It's the upper condyle of a human femur,” said I.
1927, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place, Norton, published 2005, page 17171 more example
Primitively the exoccipitals took but little part in the formation of the occipital condyle, but in many later reptiles they form a large part, as in the Chelonia (Fig. 31 b), or even the whole, as in the Amphisbaenia (Fig. 56 b); or, by the recession of the basioccipital, the double condyles of the Cynodontia and mammals.
1925, Samuel Wendell Williston, “Chapter 1”, in The Osteology of the Reptiles
Origin
- Ancient Greekκόνδυλος“knuckle”
- Latincondylus
- Frenchcondyle
- Englishcondyle
From French condyle, from Latin condylus, from Ancient Greek κόνδυλος (kóndulos, “knuckle”).
More words from French, Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan còndil
- còndilprominence on a bone
Finnish nivelnasta
- nivelnastaprominence on a bone
French condyle
- condyleprominence on a bone
German Gelenk
- Gelenkprominence on a bone
Italian condilo
- condiloprominence on a bone
Latin condylus
- condylusprominence on a bone
Polish kłykieć
- kłykiećprominence on a bone
Portuguese côndilo
- côndiloprominence on a bone
Russian мы́щелок
- мы́щелок (mýščelok)prominence on a bone
Spanish cóndilo
- cóndiloprominence on a bone
Swedish ledhuvud
- ledhuvudprominence on a bone
Welsh pencnaw
- pencnawprominence on a bone
Cite this entry
condyle. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/condyle
“condyle.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/condyle. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “condyle,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/condyle.
Source: condyle on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.