cephalous

¹

[ sef-uh-luhs ]

adjective

1. having a head.

-cephalous

²

1. a combining form meaning “having a head or heads” of the specified sort or number:

   brachycephalous.

Word History and Origins

Origin of cephalous¹

First recorded in 1870–75; cephal- + -ous

Origin of cephalous²

< Greek -kephalos -headed, derivative of kephalḗ head; -ous

Example Sentences

Prof. Huxley applies the same principle in accounting for the remarkable, though normal, differences in the arrangement of the nervous system in the Mollusca, in his great paper on the Morphology of the Cephalous Mollusca, in 'Phil.

From Project Gutenberg

From all that has been stated, I think that it is now possible to form a notion of the archetype of the Cephalous Mollusca, and I beg it to be understood that in using this term, I make no reference to any real or imaginary 'ideas' upon which animal forms are modelled.

From Project Gutenberg

As the word archetype was borrowed from old metaphysical ideas dating back to the time of Plato, he took care to state that what he meant by it was no more than a form embodying all that could be affirmed equally respecting every single kind of cephalous mollusc, and by no means an "idea" upon which it could be supposed that animal forms had been modelled.

From Project Gutenberg

The shell-fish with which he dealt specially were those distinguished as cephalous, because, unlike creatures such as the oyster and mussel, they had something readily comparable with the head of vertebrates.

From Project Gutenberg

The anatomy of many of the cephalous molluscs was known, but the relation of structures present in one to structures present in another group had not been settled.

From Project Gutenberg

Words That Use -cephalous

What does -cephalous mean?

The combining form -cephalous is used like a suffix meaning “having a head or heads.” It is used in some medical and scientific terms.

The form -cephalous comes from the Greek kephalḗ, meaning “head.”

What are variants of –cephalous?

A variant of -cephalous is -cephalic, as in monocephalic.

Want to know more? Read our Words That Use -cephalic article.

Corresponding forms of -cephalous combined to the beginning of words are cephalo- and cephal-, which you can learn more about in our Words That Use articles for each form.

Also deriving from kephalḗ are the combining forms encephalo- and encephal-, meaning “brain.” Discover how these forms are used in our Words That Use encephalo- and encephal- articles.

Examples of -cephalous

One example of a term in botany and zoology that uses -cephalous is bicephalous, meaning “having two heads.” When an organism is bicephalous, it is generally the result of a rare congenital disorder.

You may be familiar already with the combining form bi-, meaning “two.” The second part of the word, -cephalous, means “having a head.” Bicephalous literally translates to “having two heads.”

What are some words that use the combining form –cephalous?

• acephalous
• anencephalous
• autocephalous (from the Greek autoképhalos, “having its own head,” and referring to a church with its own chief bishop)

The combining form -cephalous should not be confused with syphilis, a disease usually contracted through sexual intercourse.

Break it down!

The prefix a- can mean “not” or “without.” With this in mind, what does acephalous mean?