pterygoid

Borrowed from New Latin pterygoīdēs, from Ancient Greek πτερῠγοειδής (pterŭgoeidḗs, “like a wing”), from πτέρῠξ (ptérŭx, “a wing”) +‎ -ο- (-o-) +‎ -ειδής (-eidḗs, “-like, -oid”).

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈtɛ.ɹɪ.ɡɔɪd/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈtɛɹ.əˌɡɔɪd/
• Rhymes: -ɛɹɪɡɔɪd

pterygoid (not comparable)

1. (anatomy) Of, pertaining to or lying in the region of the inferior part of the sphenoid bone of the vertebrate skull.

   Synonym: pterygoidal

pterygoid (plural pterygoids)

1. (anatomy) A pterygoid part (such as a bone, muscle, or nerve).
   • 1925, Samuel Wendell Williston, "Chapter 1" in The Osteology of the Reptiles

     In the absence (e.g., Figs. 31 b, 33, 44, 45, etc.) of the intertemporal and supratemporals, the parietals articulate directly with the squamosals and postorbitals; in the Chelonia (Fig. 30) and Crocodilia, also directly with the pterygoids. Fused in most late reptiles (e.g., Figs. 69, 72).

• pterygoidal

• “pterygoid”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.