hypoglossal

H4Y4P3O1G2L1O1S1S1A1L1
UK/ˌhʌɪ.pə(ʊ)ˈɡlɒs.əl/UK/ˌhʌɪ.pə(ʊ)ˈɡlɒs.l̩/US/ˌhaɪ.pəˈɡlɑs.əl/

adjective

Of or pertaining to the area under the tongue.

Similar
hypoglossal nervenervus hypoglosustwelfth cranial nerve
OriginProto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? ← New Latin hypoglōssus ← Ancient Greek ῠ̔πόγλωσσος (hŭpóglōssos) →
UncommonScrabble 20
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

adjectivehypoglossal (not comparable)
  1. not comparablerelationalanatomyOf or pertaining to the area under the tongue.
nounhypoglossal (plural hypoglossals)

plural hypoglossals

  1. abbreviationellipsisanatomyEllipsis of hypoglossal nerve.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounsupplies intrinsic muscles of the tongue and other tongue muscles

Similar
hypoglossal nervenervus hypoglosustwelfth cranial nerve
Broader
cranial nerve
Also see
hypoglossal nervetwelfth cranial nerve

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*upó
  2. Ancient Greekῠ̔πό (hŭpó)
  3. Ancient Greekῠ̔πο- (hŭpo-)
  4. Proto-Hellenic*glṓt͏̌t͏̌ā
  5. Ancient Greekγλῶσσᾰ (glôssă)
  6. Ancient Greekῠ̔πόγλωσσος (hŭpóglōssos)
  7. New Latinhypoglōssus
  8. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
  9. Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
  10. Englishhypoglossal

From New Latin hypoglōssus + -al, from Ancient Greek ῠ̔πόγλωσσος (hŭpóglōssos, “under the tongue”), from ῠ̔πο- (hŭpo-, “under, hypo-”) + γλῶσσᾰ (glôssă, “tongue”) + -ος (-os, adjectival suffix); equivalent to hypo- + glossal.

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 舌下的
  • 舌下的 (shéxiàde)of or pertaining to the area under the tongue — see also sublingual
Estonian keelealune
  • keelealuneof or pertaining to the area under the tongue — see also sublingual
French hypoglosse
  • hypoglosseof or pertaining to the area under the tongue — see also sublingual
Hungarian nyelv alatti
  • nyelv alattiof or pertaining to the area under the tongue — see also sublingual
Polish podjęzykowy
  • podjęzykowyof or pertaining to the area under the tongue — see also sublingual
Russian подъязы́чный
  • подъязы́чный (podʺjazýčnyj)of or pertaining to the area under the tongue — see also sublingual
Spanish hipogloso
  • hipoglosoof or pertaining to the area under the tongue — see also sublingual
Tagalog kubdila
  • kubdilahypoglossal nerve
Ukrainian під'язико́вий
  • під'язико́вий (pidʺjazykóvyj)of or pertaining to the area under the tongue — see also sublingual

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with hypoglossal

apostlecolossaljostlewassailaglossalbasiglossalgenioglossalglossalisoglossalmacrofossilmicrofossilnonfossilpalatoglossalpharyngoglossalretroglossalstyloglossalsubfossilsupercolossalthrostlethyroglossal
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

hypoglossal. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hypoglossal

MLA

“hypoglossal.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hypoglossal. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hypoglossal,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hypoglossal.

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