hyoid

[hahy-oid]

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.

noun

1. the hyoid bone.

hyoid

/ ˈhaɪɔɪd /

adjective

1. of or relating to the hyoid bone

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of hyoid¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of hyoid¹

C19: from New Latin hӯoïdes, from Greek huoeidēs having the shape of the letter _upsilon , from hu upsilon + _-oid

Example Sentences

The civil suit claims Paredes suffered several bruises and broken bones, including a broken hyoid bone, which is in the front of the neck, and a partially crushed vertebra.

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Another gill arch eventually evolved into a head bone called the hyoid.

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Ms Inglis had sustained a subdural hematoma and a fractured hyoid bone, a horseshoe-shaped bone in the middle of the neck.

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A medical examiner testified that strangulation by hand would have ruptured the hyoid bone, which in this case was intact.

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He noted that Briceno had a broken hyoid bone in his neck, broken blood vessels in both eyes, and blood in his lungs.

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