Meanings
nouncranial index (plural cranial indices or cranial indexes)
plural cranial indices · plural cranial indexes
- anthropologyA measure of the elongation or flatness of a head or skull: the maximum breadth of the skull divided by its maximum length, multiplied by 100.
The width of the skull is 18 cm and the length 24 cm, so the cranial index is 75.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounratio (in percent) of the maximum breadth to the maximum length of a skull
Similar
cephalic indexbreadth index
Broader
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Cite this entry
APA
cranial index. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cranial%20index
MLA
“cranial index.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cranial%20index. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cranial index,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cranial%20index.
Source: cranial index on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.