dorsal
English
Alternative forms
- (hanging): dossal
Etymology
From Late Middle English dorsal/dorsale, borrowing from Medieval Latin dorsālis (“of or relating to the back”), from dorsum (“the back”) + -ālis (“-al”, adjectival suffix); equivalent to dorsum + -al.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈdɔː.səl/, /ˈdɔː.sl̩/
Audio (UK) (file) - (General American) IPA(key): /ˈdɔɹ.səl/
- Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)səl
Adjective
dorsal (comparative more dorsal, superlative most dorsal)
- (anatomy, zootomy) With respect to, or concerning the side in which the backbone is located, or the analogous side of an invertebrate.
- (anatomy) Relating to the top surface of the foot or hand.
- (linguistics, of a sound) Produced using the dorsum of the tongue.
- Coordinate terms: coronal, labial, laryngeal, radical
- (of a knife) Having only one sharp side.
- (botany) Relating to the surface naturally inferior, as of a leaf.
- (botany) Relating to the surface naturally superior, as of a creeping hepatic moss.
Antonyms
- ventral
Coordinate terms
- (human anatomy direction adjectives) anterior, distal, dorsal, lateral, medial, posterior, proximal, ventral (Category: en:Medicine) [edit]
Derived terms
- anterodorsal, anteriodorsal
- apicodorsal
- basidorsal
- bidorsal
- caudodorsal
- centrodorsal
- cervicodorsal
- craniodorsal
- distodorsal
- dorsal body hormone
- dorsal fin
- dorsal hood
- dorsalize, dorsalise
- dorsally
- dorsalmost
- dorsal root
- dorsal root ganglion
- dorsal slit
- dorsal vessel
- dorsalward, dorsalwards
- holodorsal
- interdorsal
- intermediodorsal
- labiodorsal
- laterodorsal
- lumbodorsal
- mediodorsal
- mesodorsal, mesiodorsal
- middorsal
- nondorsal
- oculodorsal
- postdorsal
- posterodorsal
- predorsal
- prodorsal
- proximodorsal
- retrodorsal
- rostrodorsal
- sacrodorsal
- subdorsal
- superodorsal
- supradorsal
- temporodorsal
- thoracodorsal
- ventrodorsal
Related terms
- endorse, indorse
- tabes dorsalis
Translations
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Noun
dorsal (plural dorsals)
- (art) A hanging, usually of rich stuff, at the back of a throne, altar, etc.
- (zootomy, in snakes) Any of the longitudinal series of plates that encircle the body, excluding the ventral scales.
- (linguistics) A sound produced using the dorsum of the tongue.
References
- “dorsal”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
- “dorsal”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
Anagrams
- lardos
Catalan
Etymology
From dors + -al.
Adjective
dorsal (masculine and feminine plural dorsals)
- rear
- (anatomy, linguistics) dorsal
Derived terms
- aleta dorsal
Noun
dorsal m (plural dorsals)
- backplate (of a cuirass)
- (zoology) shell, elytron
- (sports) number
Noun
dorsal f (plural dorsals)
- (meteorology) ridge
- Antonym: tàlveg
- (geomorphology) ridge (on the ocean floor)
Derived terms
- dorsal oceànica
Further reading
- “dorsal” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
French
Etymology
From Old French, from Latin dorsum with adjective-forming suffix -al.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /dɔʁ.sal/
audio (file)
Adjective
dorsal (feminine dorsale, masculine plural dorsaux, feminine plural dorsales)
- dorsal
Derived terms
- épine dorsale
- nageoire dorsale
Descendants
- → Dutch: dorsaal
Further reading
- “dorsal”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
German
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /dɔʁˈzaːl/
Audio (file) - Rhymes: -aːl
Adjective
dorsal (strong nominative masculine singular dorsaler, not comparable)
- dorsal
Declension
number & gender | singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
masculine | feminine | neuter | all genders | ||
predicative | er ist dorsal | sie ist dorsal | es ist dorsal | sie sind dorsal | |
strong declension (without article) | nominative | dorsaler | dorsale | dorsales | dorsale |
genitive | dorsalen | dorsaler | dorsalen | dorsaler | |
dative | dorsalem | dorsaler | dorsalem | dorsalen | |
accusative | dorsalen | dorsale | dorsales | dorsale | |
weak declension (with definite article) | nominative | der dorsale | die dorsale | das dorsale | die dorsalen |
genitive | des dorsalen | der dorsalen | des dorsalen | der dorsalen | |
dative | dem dorsalen | der dorsalen | dem dorsalen | den dorsalen | |
accusative | den dorsalen | die dorsale | das dorsale | die dorsalen | |
mixed declension (with indefinite article) | nominative | ein dorsaler | eine dorsale | ein dorsales | (keine) dorsalen |
genitive | eines dorsalen | einer dorsalen | eines dorsalen | (keiner) dorsalen | |
dative | einem dorsalen | einer dorsalen | einem dorsalen | (keinen) dorsalen | |
accusative | einen dorsalen | eine dorsale | ein dorsales | (keine) dorsalen |
Interlingua
Adjective
dorsal (not comparable)
- dorsal
Portuguese
Pronunciation
- (Brazil) IPA(key): /doʁˈsaw/ [dohˈsaʊ̯]
- (São Paulo) IPA(key): /doɾˈsaw/ [doɾˈsaʊ̯]
- (Rio de Janeiro) IPA(key): /doʁˈsaw/ [doχˈsaʊ̯]
- (Southern Brazil) IPA(key): /doɻˈsaw/ [doɻˈsaʊ̯]
- (Portugal) IPA(key): /dɔɾˈsal/ [dɔɾˈsaɫ]
- Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
- Hyphenation: dor‧sal
Adjective
dorsal m or f (plural dorsais, not comparable)
- (anatomy) dorsal (of the back)
- (anatomy) dorsal (of the top surface of a hand or foot)
Derived terms
- dorsalmente
Noun
dorsal f (plural dorsais)
- (geology) ridge
- Synonym: dorsal oceânica
- (linguistics) dorsal
Romanian
Etymology
From French dorsal.
Adjective
dorsal m or n (feminine singular dorsală, masculine plural dorsali, feminine and neuter plural dorsale)
- dorsal
Declension
singular | plural | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
masculine | neuter | feminine | masculine | neuter | feminine | ||
nominative/ accusative | indefinite | dorsal | dorsală | dorsali | dorsale | ||
definite | dorsalul | dorsala | dorsalii | dorsalele | |||
genitive/ dative | indefinite | dorsal | dorsale | dorsali | dorsale | ||
definite | dorsalului | dorsalei | dorsalilor | dorsalelor |
Spanish
Etymology
From Latin dorsālis.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /doɾˈsal/ [d̪oɾˈsal]
- Rhymes: -al
- Syllabification: dor‧sal
Adjective
dorsal (plural dorsales)
- (anatomy) dorsal
Derived terms
- aleta dorsal
- dorsalmente
- espina dorsal
- toracodorsal
Noun
dorsal m (plural dorsales)
- ridge
Derived terms
- dorsal ancho
Related terms
- dorso
Further reading
- “dorsal”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014