Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A small triangular bone at the base of the spinal column in humans and other apes, consisting of several fused rudimentary vertebrae.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun In human anatomy, the part of the spinal column consisting of the last four bones, the caudal vertebræ or tail-bones, which are stunted and usually ankylosed together. See cut under
skeleton . - noun In comparative anatomy and zoology, the caudal vertebræ, when few and small, or ankylosed together; the bony tail itself, when short, as in a bird.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Anat.) The end of the vertebral column beyond the sacrum in man and tailless monkeys. It is composed of several vertebræ more or less consolidated.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun The final fused
vertebrae at the base of thespine .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun the end of the vertebral column in humans and tailless apes
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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The sore coccyx is a result of sitting down for too long, in the same position, in a half decent chair!
Do Writers Favour Mind Over Body? - by Joanna Penn | The Creative Penn 2009
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Also note how much longer and more solid the sacrum (with its attached bone, called the coccyx [2]) is in the male pelvis.
Woman Her Sex and Love Life William J. Robinson
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In the middle line of the posterior part of the perineum and about 4 cm. in front of the tip of the coccyx is the anal orifice.
XII. Surface Anatomy and Surface Markings. 9. Surface Anatomy of the Perineum 1918
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The coccyx is the very bottom portion of the spine.
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Just above the coccyx is the sacrum, a ` sacred 'bone because of its use in sacrifice.
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The human tail is represented in the adult by a fusion of four or five vertebræ forming the "coccyx" at the end of the backbone, and is normally concealed beneath the flesh, but in the embryo the tail projects freely and is movable.
The Outline of Science, Vol. 1 (of 4) A Plain Story Simply Told J. Arthur Thomson 1897
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A tumor, usually benign, that grows from the base of the fetus 'tailbone (coccyx).
Glossary 2010
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Then came the vicious ground impact on my coccyx (butt bone).
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The tumor, which was situated on the coccyx (tailbone), is the most common tumor of the newborn.
SCT -- Donoghue 2010
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The baby's kidney was fine, but the test showed she had a sacrococcygeal teratoma (SCT), a tumor located at the base of the fetus 'tailbone (coccyx).
frindley commented on the word coccyx
I really recommend that you don't go running on smooth tiles while wearing socks on a rainy day. Sitting down suddenly and hard on your tail bone when your feet go from under you hurts!
November 10, 2008
mollusque commented on the word coccyx
First word that I found with random word after listing geococcyx. *wonders if this is part of bilby's trap*
December 11, 2008
Prolagus commented on the word coccyx
See iroquoisy.
December 11, 2008
corylusavellana commented on the word coccyx
Public transport always leaves me with a sore one of these.
August 13, 2009