English

Noun

dorsum ‎(plural dorsa)

1. (anatomy) The back or dorsal region on an animal.
2. (geology) A ridge on a hill, or on the surface of a planet or moon.
3. (astronomy) Theta Capricorni, a star on the back of the Goat
4. The back of the tongue, used for articulating dorsal consonants.
5. The top of the foot or the back of the hand.

Synonyms

• (back of an animal): back

Related terms

• dorsal

Translations

References

• dorsum in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Italic, with no known cognates in any other Indo-European languages. Has been linked to deorsum, but their contemporaneous use suggests that one was not a phonetic development of the other.^[1]

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈdor.sum/, [ˈdɔr.sũ]

Noun

dorsum n ‎(genitive dorsī); second declension

1. (anatomy) back, part of the body between the neck and buttocks
2. (figuratively) ridge, summit

Inflection

Second declension.

Antonyms

• venter

Derived terms

• dorsālis
• dorsualia

Descendants

References

• dorsum in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• dorsum in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• DORSUM in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• Félix Gaffiot (1934), “dorsum”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette.

1. ↑ Ramat, The Indo-European Languages