Meanings
nounuvula (plural uvulae or uvulas or (archaic) uvulæ)
plural uvulae · plural uvulas · archaic plural uvulæ
- abbreviationellipsisanatomyEllipsis of palatine uvula, the fleshy appendage that hangs from the back of the soft palate, that closes the nasopharynx during swallowing.
Synonyms: staphyle
- anatomythe slight elevation in the mucous membrane immediately behind the internal urethral orifice of the urinary bladder, caused by the middle lobe of the prostate
Synonyms & antonyms
nounEllipsis of palatine uvula, the fleshy appendage that hangs from the back of the soft palate, that closes the nasopharynx during swallowing.
Similar
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁eyHw-
- Proto-Italic*oiwā
- Latinūva
- Late Latinūvula
- Englishuvula
Borrowed from Late Latin ūvula, diminutive of ūva (“grape”).
More words from Late Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans kleintong
- kleintongappendage that hangs from the palate
Ancient Greek γαργαρεών
- γαργαρεών (gargareṓn)appendage that hangs from the palate
Arabic لَهَاة
- لَهَاة (lahāh)appendage that hangs from the palate
Bulgarian мъже́ц
- мъже́ц (măžéc)appendage that hangs from the palate
Catalan úvula, llengüeta
- úvulaappendage that hangs from the palate
- llengüetaappendage that hangs from the palate
- neulellaappendage that hangs from the palate
- garganxóappendage that hangs from the palate
Chinese Mandarin 懸雍垂, 小舌
- 懸雍垂 (xuányōngchuí)appendage that hangs from the palate
- 小舌 (xiǎoshé)appendage that hangs from the palate
Czech čípek
- čípekappendage that hangs from the palate
Danish drøbel
- drøbelappendage that hangs from the palate
Dutch huig
- huigappendage that hangs from the palate
Esperanto uvulo
- uvuloappendage that hangs from the palate
Estonian kurgunibu
- kurgunibuappendage that hangs from the palate
Finnish kitakieleke
- kitakielekeappendage that hangs from the palate
French luette, uvule
- luetteappendage that hangs from the palate
- uvuleappendage that hangs from the palate
- uvulaappendage that hangs from the palate
German Gaumenzäpfchen, Uvula
- Gaumenzäpfchenappendage that hangs from the palate
- Uvulaappendage that hangs from the palate
Greek σταφυλή
- σταφυλή (stafylí)appendage that hangs from the palate
Hebrew ענבל
- ענבל (inbál)appendage that hangs from the palate
Hindi अलिजिह्वा
- अलिजिह्वा (alijihvā)appendage that hangs from the palate
Hungarian nyelvcsap, uvula
- nyelvcsapappendage that hangs from the palate
- uvulaappendage that hangs from the palate
- ínyvitorlaappendage that hangs from the palate
Icelandic úfur
- úfurappendage that hangs from the palate
Indonesian anak lidah, anak tekak
- anak lidahappendage that hangs from the palate
- anak tekakappendage that hangs from the palate
- uvulaappendage that hangs from the palate
Irish sine siain
- sine siainappendage that hangs from the palate
Italian ugola
- ugolaappendage that hangs from the palate
Japanese 口蓋垂, 懸壅垂
- 口蓋垂 (kōgaisui)appendage that hangs from the palate
- 懸壅垂 (ken'yōsui)appendage that hangs from the palate
- のどちんこ (nodochinko)appendage that hangs from the palate
Korean 목젖
- 목젖 (mokjeot)appendage that hangs from the palate
Lithuanian liežuvėlis
- liežuvėlisappendage that hangs from the palate
Malay anak lidah, anak tekak
- anak lidahappendage that hangs from the palate
- anak tekakappendage that hangs from the palate
- uvulaappendage that hangs from the palate
Māori miramira, toke
- miramiraappendage that hangs from the palate
- tokeappendage that hangs from the palate
Norwegian drøvel
- drøvelappendage that hangs from the palate
Persian ملازه, زبان کوچک
- ملازه (malâze)appendage that hangs from the palate
- زبان کوچک (zabân-e kučak)appendage that hangs from the palate
Polish języczek
- języczekappendage that hangs from the palate
Portuguese úvula
- úvulaappendage that hangs from the palate
Punjabi ਕਾਂ
- ਕਾਂ (kā̃)appendage that hangs from the palate
Romanian uvulă, omușor
- uvulăappendage that hangs from the palate
- omușorappendage that hangs from the palate
Russian язычо́к, нёбный язычо́к
- язычо́к (jazyčók)appendage that hangs from the palate
- нёбный язычо́к (njóbnyj jazyčók)appendage that hangs from the palate
- у́вула (úvula)appendage that hangs from the palate
- нёбная заве́са (njóbnaja zavésa)appendage that hangs from the palate
Scottish Gaelic cìoch-shlugain
- cìoch-shlugainappendage that hangs from the palate
Slovak čapík
- čapíkappendage that hangs from the palate
Spanish úvula, campanilla
- úvulaappendage that hangs from the palate
- campanillaappendage that hangs from the palate
- gallilloappendage that hangs from the palate
- galilloappendage that hangs from the palate
Swahili kilimi
- kilimiappendage that hangs from the palate
Swedish gomspene, tungspene
- gomspeneappendage that hangs from the palate
- tungspeneappendage that hangs from the palate
Tagalog kuntil, tilao
- kuntilappendage that hangs from the palate
- tilaoappendage that hangs from the palate
Tamil உண்ணாக்கு, உள்நாக்கு
- உண்ணாக்கு (uṇṇākku)appendage that hangs from the palate
- உள்நாக்கு (uḷnākku)appendage that hangs from the palate
- அண்ணாக்கு (aṇṇākku)appendage that hangs from the palate
Thai ลิ้นไก่
- ลิ้นไก่ (lín gài)appendage that hangs from the palate
Turkish küçük dil, dilcik
- küçük dilappendage that hangs from the palate
- dilcikappendage that hangs from the palate
Ukrainian язичо́к
- язичо́к (jazyčók)appendage that hangs from the palate
Vietnamese lưỡi gà
- lưỡi gàappendage that hangs from the palate
Welsh tafodig, tafod bach
- tafodigappendage that hangs from the palate
- tafod bachappendage that hangs from the palate
Yiddish אוּוווּלע
- אוּוווּלע (uvule)appendage that hangs from the palate
Rhymes & wordplay
Sounds the same
uvular (non-rhotic)
Cite this entry
APA
uvula. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/uvula
MLA
“uvula.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/uvula. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “uvula,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/uvula.
Source: uvula on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.