dorsum

D2O1R1S1U1M3
UK/ˈdɔː.səm/Canada, US/ˈdoɹ.səm/Australia, New Zealand/ˈdoː.səm/

noun

The back of the tongue, used for articulating dorsal consonants.

Similar
back
OriginLatin dorsum →
UncommonScrabble 9
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

noundorsum (plural dorsa)

plural dorsa

  1. The back or dorsal region on the surface of an animal.
    1. anatomyThe back of the tongue, used for articulating dorsal consonants.

      Synonyms: back

    2. anatomyThe top of the foot or the back of the hand.

      Synonyms: back

  2. geographyA ridge on a hill, or on the surface of a planet or moon.
  3. astronomyTheta Capricorni, a star on the back of the Goat.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounThe back of the tongue, used for articulating dorsal consonants.

Similar
back

nounThe top of the foot or the back of the hand.

Similar
back

More synonyms by meaning

nounthe posterior part of a human (or animal) body from the neck to the end of the spine

Similar
back
Broader
body part
Also see
back

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latindorsum
  2. Latindorsum
  3. Englishdorsum

Learned borrowing from Latin dorsum (“the back”).

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 舌背, 腳背 /脚背
  • 舌背 (shébèi)back of the tongue
  • 腳背 /脚背 (jiǎobèi)top of the foot or back of the hand
  • 手背 (shǒubèi)top of the foot or back of the hand
  • 背部 (bèibù)back of an animal
German Dorsum linguae, Dorsum
  • Dorsum linguaeback of the tongue
  • Dorsumback of the tongue
  • Zungenrückenback of the tongue
  • Dorsumridge on a hill
  • Dorsumback of an animal
  • Rückenback of an animal

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

dumsor
Cite this entry
APA

dorsum. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dorsum

MLA

“dorsum.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dorsum. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dorsum,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dorsum.

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