Meanings
nounstylopharyngeus (plural stylopharyngei)
plural stylopharyngei
- anatomyA slender muscle in the head that arises from the base of the styloid process of the temporal bone, inserts into the side of the pharynx, and acts with the contralateral muscle in swallowing to increase the transverse diameter of the pharynx by drawing its sides upward and laterally.
Origin
- New Latinstylopharyngeus
- Englishstylopharyngeus
Borrowed from New Latin stylopharyngeus, clipping of mūsculus stylopharyngeus (“stylopharyngeal muscle”). Doublet of stylopharyngeal.
More words from New Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 莖突咽肌 /茎突咽肌
- 莖突咽肌 /茎突咽肌 (jīngtúyānjī)muscle
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with stylopharyngeus
All rhymes →Cite this entry
APA
stylopharyngeus. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stylopharyngeus
MLA
“stylopharyngeus.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stylopharyngeus. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “stylopharyngeus,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stylopharyngeus.
Source: stylopharyngeus on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.