Meanings
plural ethmoids
- anatomyA light spongy cubical bone at the root of the nose, forming much of the walls of the nasal cavity and part of those of the orbits and having many perforations through which the olfactory nerves pass to the nose.
Synonyms: ethmoid bone, ethmoidal bone
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA light spongy cubical bone at the root of the nose, forming much of the walls of the nasal cavity and part of those of the orbits and having many perforations through which the olfactory nerves pass to the nose.
adjectiveOf or pertaining to the ethmoid bone.
More synonyms by meaning
nounone of the eight bones of the cranium; a small bone filled with air spaces that forms part of the eye sockets and the nasal cavity
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Ancient Greekἠθμοειδής“like a strainer, perforated”
- Frenchethmoïde
- Englishethmoid
Borrowing from French ethmoïde, from Ancient Greek ἠθμοειδής (ēthmoeidḗs, “like a strainer, perforated”), from ἠθμός (ēthmós, “strainer, sieve”) + -ειδής (-eidḗs, “-form, -like”).
More words from French, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with ethmoid
All rhymes →Cite this entry
ethmoid. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ethmoid
“ethmoid.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ethmoid. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ethmoid,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ethmoid.
Source: ethmoid on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.