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cephalic

1

[suh-fal-ik]

adjective

  1. of or relating to the head.

  2. situated or directed toward the head.



-cephalic

2
  1. variant of -cephalous.

    brachycephalic.

cephalic

1

/ ɪˈæɪ /

adjective

  1. of or relating to the head

  2. situated in, on, or near the head

“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

-cephalic

2

combining form

  1. indicating skull or head; -headed

    brachycephalic

“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

cephalic

  1. Located on or near the head.

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Other Word Forms

  • cephalically adverb
  • postcephalic adjective
  • procephalic adjective
  • uncephalic adjective
  • -cephaly combining form
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Word History and Origins

Origin of cephalic1

1590–1600; < Latin cephalicus < Greek 󲹱ó of the head. See cephal-, -ic

Origin of cephalic2

< Greek -kephal ( os ) -cephalous + -ic
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Word History and Origins

Origin of cephalic1

from Greek -kephalos
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

But the court heard that despite a 31-week scan recording the baby as completely breech, three subsequent midwife examinations recorded it as being in a head down, cephalic position.

From

The circling motion was more relaxed: the rays were touching each other, and they weren't unfurling their cephalic fins—the horn-like appendages in front of their face—to eat.

From

This has to be done quickly, what I’m after now, he realized; he hurried down the hall and all at once his detection gear registered the presence of cephalic activity.

From

External cephalic version, in my experience, is more painful than actually having a baby with no anesthesia.

From

They can grow up to 4 feet and are named for the distinctive cephalic lobes that resemble horns.

From

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When To Use

does -cephalic mean?

The combining form -cephalic is used like a suffix meaning “having a head or heads.” It is often used in medical and scientific terms.The form -cephalic comes from the Greek 󲹱ḗ, meaning “head.”The combining form -cephalic is a variant of -cephalous, as in dicephalous.Want to know more? Read our Words That Use -cephalous article.Corresponding forms of -cephalic combined to the beginning of words are cephalo- and cephal-, which you can learn more about in our Words That Use articles for each form.Also deriving from 󲹱ḗ are the combining forms encephalo- and encephal-, meaning “brain.” Discover how these forms are used in our Words That Use encephalo- and encephal- articles.

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cephalexincephalic index