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• cephalic
  cephalic

  adjective

  of or relating to the head.
• -cephalic
  -cephalic

  variant of -cephalous.

cephalic

¹ American  

[suh-fal-ik] / səˈfæl ɪk /

adjective

1. of or relating to the head.

2. situated or directed toward the head.

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-cephalic ² American  

1. variant of -cephalous.

   brachycephalic.

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cephalic ¹ British  

/ sɪˈfælɪk /

adjective

1. of or relating to the head

2. situated in, on, or near the head

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-cephalic ² British  

combining form

1. indicating skull or head; -headed

   brachycephalic

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cephalic Scientific  

/ sə-făl′ĭk /

1. Located on or near the head.

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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

Schmidt Cephalic Carnage Anomalies Relapse Records The loonies in Cephalic Carnage are back at it again with another bona fide grindfest.

From Time Magazine Archive

T, Cephalic tentacle. br, One of the two symmetrical gills placed on the neck.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 5 "Gassendi, Pierre" to "Geocentric" by Various

Cephalic bristles: Diptera; specialized bristles occurring on the head.

From Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology by Smith, John. B.

Cephalic, se-fal′ik, adj. belonging to the head—also Cephalis′tic.—ns.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various

Cephalic shield continuous with neck; twelve to fourteen stomachal plates; a posterior pallial filament passing through a notch in shell.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 5 "Gassendi, Pierre" to "Geocentric" by Various