dorsal

¹

[dawr-suhl]

adjective

1. of, relating to, or situated at the back, or dorsum.

2. Anatomy, Zoology.

   1. situated on or toward the upper side of the body, equivalent to the back, or posterior, in humans.

   2. situated on or toward the posterior plane in humans or toward the upper plane in quadrupeds.

3. Botany.,  pertaining to the surface away from the axis, as of a leaf; abaxial.

4. Phonetics.,  (of a speech sound) articulated with the dorsum of the tongue.

noun

1. Phonetics.,  a dorsal speech sound.

2. Anatomy.,  a dorsal structure.

dorsal

²

[dawr-suhl]

noun

1. dossal.

dorsal

/ ˈdɔːsəl /

adjective

1. anatomy zoology relating to the back or spinal part of the body Compare ventral

2. botany of, relating to, or situated on the side of an organ that is directed away from the axis

3. articulated with the back of the tongue, as the (k) sound in English coot

dorsal

1. Relating to or on the back or upper surface of an animal.

Other Word Forms

• dorsally adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of dorsal¹

1535–45; < Medieval Latin dorsālis, equivalent to Latin dors ( um ) back + -ālis -al ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of dorsal¹

C15: from Medieval Latin dorsālis, from Latin dorsum back

Example Sentences

They crawled around blowholes and dorsal fins, and soon each human was sitting on the back of their very own whale.

Read more on Literature

Each encounter was carefully recorded, and the individual orcas were identified by markings on their dorsal fins.

Read more on Science Daily

"A dorsal fin slowly broke the surface revealing that familiar profile that looked like a shark," he said.

Read more on BBC

This species is unique for the dorsal attachment of its stipe to the top of the pileus, and the abundant cystidia covering all surfaces of the fruiting body.

Read more on Salon

He thrust the blade into the thick muscle beneath the dorsal fin to attach the tracking device.

Read more on Los Angeles Times