larynx
NounOpen English WordNet
Noun (1)larynges
- a cartilaginous structure at the top of the trachea; contains elastic vocal cords that are the source of the vocal tone in speechSynonyms: voice boxType of cartilaginous structure, speech organPart of upper respiratory tractParts vocal cord, arytenoid, glottis, laryngeal artery, thyroid cartilage, laryngeal vein
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Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Origin: NL. from Gr. λάρυγξ, λάρυγγος.
Anatomy The expanded upper end of the windpipe or trachea, connected with the hyoid bone or cartilage. It contains the vocal cords, which produce the voice by their vibrations, when they are stretched and a current of air passes between them. The larynx is connected with the pharynx by an opening, the glottis, which, in mammals, is protected by a lidlike epiglottis.
☞ In the framework of the human larynx, the thyroid cartilage, attached to the hyoid bone, makes the protuberance on the front of the neck known as Adam's apple, and is articulated below to the ringlike cricoid cartilage. This is narrow in front and high behind, where, within the thyroid, it is surmounted by the two arytenoid cartilages, from which the vocal cords pass forward to be attached together to the front of the thyroid. See Syrinx.
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54