hyoid

(hī'oid')
adj.
Of or relating to the hyoid bone.

n.
The hyoid bone.

[New Latin hȳoīdēs, the hyoid bone, from Greek hūoeidēs, shaped like the letter upsilon : hū, upsilon + -oeidēs, -oid.]

(HIE-oid)

adjective
Of or relating to the hyoid bone, a U-shaped bone at the base of the tongue that supports the muscles of the tongue.

noun
The hyoid bone.

Etymology
New Latin hyoides, the hyoid bone, from Greek huoeides, shaped like the letter upsilon : hu, name of the letter upsilon + -oeides, -oid

(It's the only bone that isn't attached to another bone. -Anu)

Usage
"Even the discovery in Israel a decade ago of a Neanderthal skeleton with a large hyoid bone, which is in the throat and associated with speech, had not settled the issue of Neanderthal speech." — John Noble Wilford, Early man had the ability to speak, The Dallas Morning News, 4 May 1998.

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(hī'oid')
adj.

1. Shaped like the letter U.
2. Of or relating to the hyoid bone.

n.

The hyoid bone.

1. shaped like Greek letter upsilon (υ).
2. pertaining to the hyoid bone.

• h. apparatus — the suspensory mechanism for the tongue and larynx. Consists of the single basihyoid, and the paired thyrohyoid, ceratohyoid, epihyoid and stylohyoid bones and the tympanohyoid cartilages.
• h. bone — one or more of the bones of the hyoid apparatus, fused in some species (e.g. human) to form a horseshoe-shaped bone situated at the base of the tongue, just below the thyroid cartilage. See also Table 10.

Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: a U-shaped bone at the base of the tongue that supports the tongue muscles
  Synonyms: hyoid bone, os hyoideum

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The adjective hyoid has one meaning:

Meaning #1: of or relating to the hyoid bone
  Pertains to noun: hyoid bone (meaning #1)

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