distal

[dis-tl]

adjective

situated away from the point of origin or attachment, as of a limb or bone; terminal.Compare proximal.

Dentistry. directed away from the sagittal plane or midline of the face, along the dental arch.Compare buccal(def 3), mesial(def 2).

Origin of distal

First recorded in 1800–10; dist(ant) + -al¹

Related formsdis·tal·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for distal

Contemporary Examples of distal

The distal aspect of her left humerus was sticking out of the front of her arm.
New Orleans Shooting: I Saw the Mother’s Day Parade Gunman
Jarratt Pytell
May 13, 2013
The distal muscles, those further away like the hands and feet, are less likely to be less affected.
‘Bucket List’ Baby Avery Canahuati: Facts About Spinal Muscular Atrophy
Andrew Carter
May 3, 2012
The intermediate and distal phalanges of the index finger show contraction, as if the Palestinian Arab were squeezing something.
The Crime of Kufr Qaddoum: An EmergencyStandWithDavidMonitor Animal Rights Division Expose
Eli Valley
March 29, 2012

Historical Examples of distal

The third, fourth, and fifth are expanded and flattened at distal end.
The Beaked Whales of the Family Ziphidae
Frederick True
The nozzle of his bellows is fitted into the distal end of the pipe.
At the Court of the Amr
John Alfred Gray
At the middle, or in the distal half, each spine bears a verticil of three strong, irregularly formed ramified branches.
Report on the Radiolaria Collected by H.M.S. Challenger During the Years 1873-1876, First Part: Porulosa (Spumellaria and Acantharia)
Ernst Haeckel
On each spine six to nine branches, which are for the most part forked, the distal branches only being simple.
Report on the Radiolaria Collected by H.M.S. Challenger During the Years 1873-1876, First Part: Porulosa (Spumellaria and Acantharia)
Ernst Haeckel
Inner cortical shell with six to ten chambers of nearly the same size and form; the distal chambers somewhat smaller.
Report on the Radiolaria Collected by H.M.S. Challenger During the Years 1873-1876, First Part: Porulosa (Spumellaria and Acantharia)
Ernst Haeckel

British Dictionary definitions for distal

distal

adjective

anatomy (of a muscle, bone, limb, etc) situated farthest from the centre, median line, or point of attachment or originCompare proximal

Derived Formsdistally, adverb

Word Origin for distal

C19: from distant + -al 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for distal

adj.

1808, formed from distant + -al (1) on model of central, dorsal, ventral, etc.

distal in Medicine

distal

[dĭs′təl]

adj.

Anatomically located far from a point of reference, such as an origin or a point of attachment.

Situated farthest from the middle and front of the jaw, as a tooth or tooth surface.