Meanings
comparative more distal · superlative most distal
- anatomyRemote from the point of attachment or origin.
the distal end of a bone or muscle
1 more example
Among the hypothesized diagnoses was metastatic carcinoma. In metastatic cancer, metastases are most frequent in the axial skeleton and are rare in the distal parts of the appendicular skeleton[…].
2023, Simon Mays, “The Macroscopic Study of Human Skeletal Paleopathology” (chapter 2), in The Routledge Handbook of Paleopathology, Routledge, →DOI, →ISBN, page 27Antonyms: proximal
- dentistryFacing the wisdom tooth or temporomandibular joint on the same side of the jaw.
- human sciencesFar or farther from the speaker.
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveRemote from the point of attachment or origin.
antonym(s) of “dentistry”
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivesituated farthest from point of attachment or origin, as of a limb or bone
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*dwóh₁
- Proto-Indo-European*trísinflu.
- Proto-Indo-European*d(w)is-
- Proto-Italic*dis-
- Latindis-
- Proto-Indo-European*steh₂-
- Proto-Indo-European*sth₂éh₁yeti
- Proto-Italic*staējō
- Proto-Italic*staēō
- Latinstō
- Latindistō
- Latindistāns
- Old Frenchdistant
- Middle Englishdistaunt
- Englishdistant
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
- Englishdistal
Translations
Bulgarian периферен
- периферен (periferen)remote from the point of attachment or origin
Catalan distal
- distalremote from the point of attachment or origin
Chinese Mandarin 末梢部的
- 末梢部的 (mòshāobù de)remote from the point of attachment or origin
Czech distální
- distálníremote from the point of attachment or origin
Danish distal
- distalremote from the point of attachment or origin
Dutch distaal
- distaalremote from the point of attachment or origin
Finnish kaukainen, distaalinen
- kaukainenremote from the point of attachment or origin
- distaalinenremote from the point of attachment or origin
French distal
- distalremote from the point of attachment or origin
German distal
- distalremote from the point of attachment or origin
Greek άπω
- άπω (ápo)remote from the point of attachment or origin
Indonesian distal
- distalremote from the point of attachment or origin
Irish aimhneasach, foircneach
- aimhneasachremote from the point of attachment or origin
- foircneachremote from the point of attachment or origin
Italian distale
- distaleremote from the point of attachment or origin
Polish dystalny
- dystalnyremote from the point of attachment or origin
Portuguese distal
- distalremote from the point of attachment or origin
Romanian distal
- distalremote from the point of attachment or origin
Russian диста́льный, удалённый
- диста́льный (distálʹnyj)remote from the point of attachment or origin
- удалённый (udaljónnyj)remote from the point of attachment or origin
Spanish distal
- distalremote from the point of attachment or origin
Swedish distal
- distalremote from the point of attachment or origin
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with distal
Cite this entry
distal. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/distal
“distal.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/distal. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “distal,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/distal.
Source: distal on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.