1.
[syn: sphenoid bone, sphenoid, os sphenoidale]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Sphenoid \Sphe"noid\, n.
1. (Crystallog.) A wedge-shaped crystal bounded by four equal
isosceles triangles. It is the hemihedral form of a square
pyramid.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Anat.) The sphenoid bone.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Sphenoid \Sphe"noid\, a. [Gr. ???; sfh`n a wedge + e'i^dos form:
cf. F. sph['e]no["i]de.]
1. Wedge-shaped; as, a sphenoid crystal.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the sphenoid bone.
[1913 Webster]
Sphenoid bone (Anat.), an irregularly shaped bone in front
of the occipital in the base of the skull of the higher
vertebrates. It is composed of several fetal bones which
become united the adult. See Alisphenoid,
Basisphenoid, Orbitosphenoid, Presphenoid.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
sphenoid
n 1: butterfly-shaped bone at the base of the skull [syn:
sphenoid bone, sphenoid, os sphenoidale]