cranium

[krey-nee-uhm]

noun

plural

craniums, crania 

1. the skull of a vertebrate.

2. the part of the skull that encloses the brain.

cranium

/ ˈkreɪnɪəm /

noun

1. the skull of a vertebrate

2. Nontechnical name: brainpan. the part of the skull that encloses the brain

cranium

plural

craniums 

1. The vertebrate skull, especially the part that encloses and protects the brain.

cranium

1. The part of the skull that encloses the brain.

Word History and Origins

Origin of cranium¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English craneum, from Medieval Latin crānium, from Greek krāníon “skull”; akin to kerato-, cerebrum, cornu, horn

Word History and Origins

Origin of cranium¹

C16: from Medieval Latin crānium skull, from Greek kranion

Example Sentences

Humans evolved wisdom teeth to better grind down hard foods like raw plants, tough meats and nuts, but as our diets became softer and our brains bigger, our species developed larger craniums and smaller jaws.

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The creature’s cranium was like a dark cave with no exit!

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The head had been crushed, possibly by rockfall, relatively soon after death -- after the brain decomposed but before the cranium filled with dirt -- and then compacted further by tens of thousands of years of sediment.

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In vertebrates, where the comparatively large brain is enclosed in a compact cranium, another space-saving mechanism plays a major role: myelination.

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The museum plans to repatriate hundreds of craniums from all over the world, but the process has been fraught from the beginning.

Read more on New York Times