fontanel
or fon·ta·nelle
[fon-tn-el]
- one of the spaces, covered by membrane, between the bones of the fetal or young skull.
Show More
Origin of fontanel
1375–1425; late Middle English fontinel < Middle French fontanele little spring, diminutive of fontaine fountain
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for fontanelle
Historical Examples
The basicranial axis is straight, and the fontanelle in the lachrymal region is very large.
The Cambridge Natural History, Vol X., MammaliaFrank Evers Beddard
Fontanelle, fon-ta-nel′, n. a gap between the bones of the skull of a young animal: an opening for the discharge of pus.
Firschein used the presence of the fontanelle to distinguish guttilatus from his petrophilus.
A keyhole-shaped frontoparietal fontanelle is present; the fontanelle is narrow anteriorly and wide posteriorly.
Furthermore, the fontanelle in question may alter its characteristic appearance in certain forms of sickness.
Pedagogical AnthropologyMaria Montessori
fontanelle
mainly US fontanel
- anatomy any of several soft membranous gaps between the bones of the skull in a fetus or infant
Show More
Word Origin
C16 (in the sense: hollow between muscles): from Old French fontanele, literally: a little spring, from fontaine fountain
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 fontanelle
n.
also fontanel, 1540s, "hollow between two muscles," from French fontanelle (16c.), from Old French fontenele "small source, fountain, spring; fontanelle," diminutive of fontaine "spring" (see fountain), on analogy of the dent in the earth where a spring arises. In reference to the "hollow" in a baby's skull, it is first recorded 1741.
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
fontanel
- Any of the soft membranous gaps between the incompletely formed cranial bones of a fetus or infant.soft spot
Show More
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.