acephalous
Americanadjective
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Zoology. Also acephalic headless; lacking a distinct head.
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without a leader or ruler.
adjective
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having no head or one that is reduced and indistinct, as certain insect larvae
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having or recognizing no ruler or leader
Etymology
Origin of acephalous
1725–35; < Greek aképhalos; see a- 6, -cephalous
Explanation
Anything that is acephalous is headless — like the acephalous horseman of folklore. The term acephalous refers to organisms that lack a head, or to a group or society with no leader, or "head." Clams, oysters, mussels, and scallops are acephalous, as are sea stars, sea urchins, and sponges. Some historical tribal societies were acephalous: they had no one formal, decision-making authority. Leaderless digital communities and music bands are acephalous. The term is also used in poetry: An acephalous line is missing its first syllable based on an expected metrical pattern — e.g., "da-DUM da-DUM" becomes "DUM da-DUM." The term acephalous comes from Greek, where a- means "without" and kephalē means "head."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They are like oysters, with extreme stress of shell, and only a blind, soft, acephalous body within.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 09, No. 54, April, 1862 by Various
Pare, Benivenius, and Columbus describe adults with acephalous monsters attached to them.
From Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine by Pyle, Walter L. (Walter Lytle)
The admirable phrase, "A man with a special subject," might have been invented on purpose for these acephalous species in the domain of literature and politics.
From A Woman of Thirty by Balzac, Honoré de
A clumsy affair called a catamaran, the acephalous ancestor of the torpedo, was expected to relieve the sea of some thousands of people who had no business there.
From Springhaven : a Tale of the Great War by Blackmore, R. D. (Richard Doddridge)
And Mr. Buckle begins with making Personality acephalous, and ends-with appending its corpse to Society, to be galvanized into seemings of life.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 11, No. 63, January, 1863 by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
