cephalic
1 Americanadjective
-
of or relating to the head.
-
situated or directed toward the head.
combining form
adjective
-
of or relating to the head
-
situated in, on, or near the head
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
- -cephaly combining form
- cephalically adverb
- postcephalic adjective
- procephalic adjective
- uncephalic adjective
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
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
His cephalic pattern taken, he found himself being led off to an equally familiar room; reflexively he began assembling his valuables for transfer.
From Literature
External cephalic version, in my experience, is more painful than actually having a baby with no anesthesia.
From New York Times
They can grow up to 4 feet and are named for the distinctive cephalic lobes that resemble horns.
From Washington Times
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.
