cephalic index

American  

noun

1. Cephalometry, Craniometry. the ratio of the greatest breadth of the head to its greatest length from front to back, multiplied by 100.

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cephalic index British  

noun

1. the ratio of the greatest width of the human head to its greatest length, multiplied by 100

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Etymology

Origin of cephalic index

First recorded in 1865–70

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cephalic index

Head form is most conveniently expressed by means of the cephalic index, that is, the ratio of breadth to length.

From Applied Eugenics by Paul Popenoe

Shape of the skull apparently normal but more exaggeratedly brachycephalic than the mean cephalic index of the Piedmontese, which is 85; probable capacity 90 cu. in.

From Criminal Man According to the Classification of Cesare Lombroso by Gina Lombroso

Nordic-Alpine type, with cephalic index mainly between 76 and 81.

From Man, Past and Present by Alfred Court Haddon

The cephalic index of all classes was 84.

From Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 5 Erotic Symbolism; The Mechanism of Detumescence; The Psychic State in Pregnancy by Havelock Ellis

The breadth of the head is about the same as the Ilocano; but the length is much greater, and there is, in consequence, a considerable difference in the cephalic index.

From The Tinguian Social, Religious, and Economic Life of a Philippine Tribe by Fay-Cooper Cole