cephalic
adjective
of or relating to the head.
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cephalic
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-cephalic
-cephalicvariant of -cephalous.
cephalic
1 American
[suh-fal-ik]
/ səˈfæl ɪk /
adjective
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of or relating to the head.
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situated or directed toward the head.
-cephalic
2
American
-cephalic
1
British
combining form
cephalic
2
British
/ sɪˈfælɪk /
adjective
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of or relating to the head
-
situated in, on, or near the head
cephalic
Scientific
/ sə-făl′ĭk /
Usage
What does -cephalic mean? The combining form -cephalic is used like a suffix meaning “having a head or heads.” It is often used in medical and scientific terms. The form -cephalic comes from the Greek kephalḗ, meaning “head.”The combining form -cephalic is a variant of -cephalous, as in dicephalous. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use -cephalous article. Corresponding forms of -cephalic combined to the beginning of words are cephalo- and cephal-, which you can learn more about in our Words That Use articles for each form. Also deriving from kephalḗ are the combining forms encephalo- and encephal-, meaning “brain.” Discover how these forms are used in our Words That Use encephalo- and encephal- articles.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of cephalic1
1590–1600; < Latin cephalicus < Greek kephalikós of the head. See cephal-, -ic
Origin of -cephalic2
< Greek -kephal ( os ) -cephalous + -ic
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.
But the court heard that despite a 31-week scan recording the baby as completely breech, three subsequent midwife examinations recorded it as being in a head down, cephalic position.
From BBC ● Jan. 12, 2024
The circling motion was more relaxed: the rays were touching each other, and they weren't unfurling their cephalic fins—the horn-like appendages in front of their face—to eat.
From National Geographic ● Nov. 20, 2023
Right now, if you think about a piece of chocolate or a crispy potato chip, the increase in salivation is a cephalic phase response to the thought.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
The first phase of ingestion, called the cephalic phase, is controlled by the neural response to the stimulus provided by food.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
“I’ve compensated for his cephalic emanations,” Roy explained.
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
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.
