acephalous

American  

[ey-sef-uh-luhs] / eɪˈsɛf ə ləs /

adjective

1. Zoology. Also acephalic headless; lacking a distinct head.

2. without a leader or ruler.

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acephalous British  

/ əˈsɛfələs /

adjective

1. having no head or one that is reduced and indistinct, as certain insect larvae

2. having or recognizing no ruler or leader

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Etymology

Origin of acephalous

1725–35; < Greek aképhalos; 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

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

With these important prisoners he dashed away, leaving the acephalous enemy to capture his broken columns if he could.

From The Late Mrs. Null by Stockton, Frank Richard

Such a cabinet ought not to be acephalous.

From The Life of William Ewart Gladstone (Vol 2 of 3) by Morley, John

Only one of my books is without a preface,—though some of them are disguised as notes, or forewords, or afterwords,—and I hereby apologize for the acephalous condition of that volume.

From Woven with the Ship A Novel of 1865 by Brady, Cyrus Townsend

Sandiford had divided acephalous animals into three classes: the first, in which the head was wanting; the second, where other organs were also missing; and the third, where the fœtus presented an unformed mass.

From Curiosities of Medical Experience by Millingen, J. G. (John Gideon)