occipital

[ok-sip-i-tl]Anatomy

adjective

of, relating to, or situated near the occiput or the occipital bone.

noun

any of several parts of the occiput, especially the occipital bone.

Origin of occipital

1535–45; < Medieval Latin occipitālis, equivalent to Latin occipit- (stem of occiput) occiput + -ālis -al¹

Related formsoc·cip·i·tal·ly, adverbpre·oc·cip·i·tal, adjectivesu·per·oc·cip·i·tal, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for occipital

Historical Examples of occipital

Occipital margin: in Mallophaga, the posterior margin of the head.
Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology
John. B. Smith
Still, it has not yet developed what might be called frontal and occipital lobes.
Buchanan's Journal of Man, June 1887
Various
In this instance an occipital lesion was associated with the parietal.
Surgical Experiences in South Africa, 1899-1900
George Henry Makins
The backward direction of the plane of the occipital depression.
A Plea for the Criminal
James Leslie Allan Kayll
The outline of the occipital crest, viewed from behind, is semicircular.
The Beaked Whales of the Family Ziphidae
Frederick True

British Dictionary definitions for occipital

occipital

adjective

of or relating to the back of the head or skull

noun

short for occipital bone

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 occipital

adj.

1540s, from Middle French occipital, from Medieval Latin occipitalis, from Latin occiput (genitive occipitis) "back of the skull," from ob "against, behind" (see ob-) + caput "head" (see capitulum).

Medicine definitions for occipital

occipital

[ŏk-sĭp′ĭ-tl]

adj.

Of or relating to the occipital bone.

n.

The occipital bone.