Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

zygapophysis

American  
[zig-uh-pof-uh-sis, zahy-guh-] / ˌzɪg əˈpɒf ə sɪs, ˌzaɪ gə- /

noun

Anatomy.

plural

zygapophyses

  1. one of the four processes of a vertebra, occurring in pairs that interlock each vertebra with the vertebrae above and below.

zygapophysis British  
/ ˌzɪɡəˈpɒfɪsɪs, ˌzɪɡæpəˈfɪzɪəl, ˌzaɪɡə- /

noun

  1. anatomy zoology one of several processes on a vertebra that articulates with the corresponding process on an adjacent vertebra

"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

Other Word Forms

  • postzygapophyseal adjective
  • postzygapophysial adjective
  • zygapophyseal adjective
  • zygapophysial adjective

Etymology

Origin of zygapophysis

First recorded in 1850–55; zyg- ( def. ) + apophysis

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.