occiput

[ok-suh-puht, -puht]

noun

Anatomy.

plural

occiputs, occipita 

1. the back part of the head or skull.

occiput

/ -pət, ˈɒksɪˌpʌt /

noun

1. the back part of the head or skull

Word History and Origins

Origin of occiput¹

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin, equivalent to oc- oc- + -ciput, combining form of caput head

Word History and Origins

Origin of occiput¹

C14: from Latin, from ob- at the back of + caput head

Example Sentences

I felt her glance slide through me and out my occiput and knew that I was uncommonly transparent to her; that everybody was.

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He was later followed offstage by Paul Hamrick, a home-schooled 13-year-old from California, who was bummed to learn that ­“occiput” has that tricky “u” in there. 

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Reaching about 1 m in total length, they were blunt-snouted and with closely set, dorsally facing orbits and a long skull table which, at the level of the occiput, was broader than the snout.

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Neck and Shoulders.—The neck should be fairly long, and tapering from the shoulders to the head, with sloping shoulders, the neck being free from throatiness, and slightly arched at the occiput.

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His hand went to the back of his head and patted his occiput—a gesture frequent with him.

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