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dorsal
1[ dawr-suhl ]
adjective
- of, relating to, or situated at the back, or dorsum.
- Anatomy, Zoology. Compare ventral ( def 2 ).
- situated on or toward the upper side of the body, equivalent to the back, or posterior, in humans.
- situated on or toward the posterior plane in humans or toward the upper plane in quadrupeds.
- Botany. pertaining to the surface away from the axis, as of a leaf; abaxial.
- Phonetics. (of a speech sound) articulated with the dorsum of the tongue.
noun
- Phonetics. a dorsal speech sound.
- Anatomy. a dorsal structure.
dorsal
2[ dawr-suhl ]
noun
dorsal
/ dôr′səl /
- Relating to or on the back or upper surface of an animal.
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Derived Forms
- ˈdorsally, adverb
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Other Words From
- dorsal·ly adverb
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Word History and Origins
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Word History and Origins
Origin of dorsal1
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Example Sentences
The team assembled “a massive dataset” of femur and dorsal rib bone densities from “an incredible menagerie of extinct and living animals, reaching out to museum curators all around the world,” Ibrahim says.
Then they noticed the telltale dorsal fins of killer whales.
Previous studies have found that different activities recruit specific bundles of nerve fibers from a part of the spinal cord called the dorsal root.
Tooth marks crisscrossed its flank, and its dorsal fin was mostly bitten off.
Previous experiments have suggested that the dorsal pallium of fish may be analogous to the amygdala of mammals, where fear memories are stored.
The building is festooned with cartoon-like images of fish, including dorsal fins that poke out of the roof.
It has silvery blue skin and a red dorsal fin that runs the length of its body.
The first and last lines of Lolita make my dorsal hairs quiver, as Nabokov intended.
Relatively misshapen and formless, the dorsal figure is perhaps even more expressive of physical torment.
The body shields of the head pass gradually into the dorsal plates.
The tip often forms an abrupt angle with the shaft and there is a keel on the dorsal surface of the tip (see figs. 5, 6).
Microscopic examination reveals that there is a faint keel on the dorsal surface of the tip.
Such a contrivance would save his feet, check his perspiration, and console his dorsal vertebra.
This body has deep pits both on the dorsal and ventral sides near the base.
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