xiphoid

[ zif-oid ]

adjective

Anatomy, Zoology. sword-shaped; ensiform.

noun

the xiphisternum.

Origin of xiphoid

1740–50; <New Latin xiphoīdēs<Greek xiphoeidḗs swordlike, equivalent to xíph(os) sword + -oeidēs-oid

Other words from xiphoid

post·xiph·oid, adjective

Words Nearby xiphoid

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use xiphoid in a sentence

The xiphoid cartilage is extraordinarily elongated into thin strips, which reach the pelvis and return.
The Cambridge Natural History, Vol X., Mammalia | Frank Evers Beddard
It is usually accompanied with painful sensations near the xiphoid cartilage or behind the sternum, or sometimes in the pharynx.
A System of Practical Medicine By American Authors, Vol. II | Various
The xiphoid appendix, which is cartilaginous, is attached to the extremity of a long process of the last bone of the sternum.
Artistic Anatomy of Animals | douard Cuyer
Two little girls were united from the xiphoid cartilage to the umbilicus.
Curiosities of Medical Experience | J. G. (John Gideon) Millingen

British Dictionary definitions for xiphoid

xiphoid

/ (ˈzɪfɔɪd) /

adjective

biology shaped like a sword
of or relating to the xiphisternum

noun

Also called: xiphoid process Another name for xiphisternum

Origin of xiphoid

C18: from New Latin, from Greek, from xiphos sword + eidos form

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

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