Meanings
- not comparableanatomyOf, pertaining to or lying in the region of the inferior part of the sphenoid bone of the vertebrate skull.
Synonyms: pterygoidal
plural pterygoids
- anatomyA pterygoid part (such as a bone, muscle, or nerve).
In the absence (e.g., Figs. 31 b, 33, 44, 45, etc.) of the intertemporal and supratemporals, the parietals articulate directly with the squamosals and postorbitals; in the Chelonia (Fig. 30) and Crocodilia, also directly with the pterygoids. Fused in most late reptiles (e.g., Figs. 69, 72).
1925, Samuel Wendell Williston, “Chapter 1”, in The Osteology of the Reptiles
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveOf, pertaining to or lying in the region of the inferior part of the sphenoid bone of the vertebrate skull.
Origin
- Ancient Greekπτερῠγοειδής“like a wing”
- New Latinpterygoīdēs
- Englishpterygoid
Borrowed from New Latin pterygoīdēs, from Ancient Greek πτερῠγοειδής (pterŭgoeidḗs, “like a wing”), from πτέρῠξ (ptérŭx, “a wing”) + -ο- (-o-) + -ειδής (-eidḗs, “-like, -oid”).
More words from New Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 翼的
- 翼的 (yì de)Translations
Finnish kitaluu-
- kitaluu-Translations
French ptérygoïde, ptérygoïdien
- ptérygoïdeTranslations
- ptérygoïdienTranslations
Italian pterigoideo
- pterigoideoTranslations
Spanish pterigoideo, pterigoides
- pterigoideoTranslations
- pterigoidesTranslations
- pterigoidesTranslations
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with pterygoid
Cite this entry
pterygoid. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pterygoid
“pterygoid.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pterygoid. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pterygoid,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pterygoid.
Source: pterygoid on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.