hyoid

American  

[hahy-oid] / ˈhaɪ ɔɪd /

adjective

1. Also hyoidal hyoidean noting or pertaining to a U -shaped bone at the root of the tongue in humans, or a corresponding bone or collection of bones in animals.

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noun

1. the hyoid bone.

hyoid British  

/ ˈhaɪɔɪd /

adjective

1. of or relating to the hyoid bone

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noun

1. the horseshoe-shaped bone that lies at the base of the tongue and above the thyroid cartilage

2. a corresponding bone or group of bones in other vertebrates

Other Word Forms

• posthyoid adjective
• subhyoid adjective
• subhyoidean adjective

Etymology

Origin of hyoid

1700–10; < New Latin hȳoïdes < Greek hȳoeidḗs, shaped like the letter hypsilon (i.e. upsilon), equivalent to hȳ- (derivative of letter name hŷ, variant of ŷ; upsilon ) + -oeidēs -oid

Example Sentences

Because no one had previously proven that hyoid bones could reliably preserve growth information, the researchers needed to verify the method before applying it to Nanotyrannus.

From Science Daily

Known placoderms have at most five gill arches, others having evolved into jaws and the hyoid, so the pectoral girdle derives from what was once the sixth gill arch, Brazeau’s team concludes.

From Science Magazine

“The hyoid’s movement to generate suction is very similar to movement of the tongue back and forth to manipulate prey,” Schwenk explains.

From Science Magazine

They skirt the underlying anatomy and overlook the contribution of the hyoid bone entirely.

From New York Times

For decades, the debate hinged on a single Neanderthal bone: the horseshoe-shaped hyoid, which is a key to speaking.

From New York Times