Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Abnormal smallness of the head.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The condition or character presented by a small or imperfectly developed head.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A neurological disorder in which the person affected has an abnormally small head due to a failure of brain growth.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun an abnormally small head and underdeveloped brain

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

micro- + -cephaly

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Examples

  • The study provides scientific evidence that the so-called "hobbit" bones found in 2003 on the Indonesian island of Flores belonged to a pygmy with a skull-deforming condition called microcephaly, not a member of a previously unknown species of human being,

    Pruning the Human Family Tree 2006

  • Lauren has a neurodevelopment disorder called microcephaly, a seizure disorder, is legally blind and has delays in all area of development that leave her with the capabilities of a 4-month old.

    Berkshire Eagle Most Viewed 2009

  • Homo erectus, and humans with a disorder called microcephaly, which has been suggested as an explanation for the Hobbit's small stature.

    Livescience.com 2009

  • Some anthropologists dismissed the specimens as simply showing evidence of a miserable community afflicted by microcephaly, Laron syndrome, cretinism or other ailments that might produce similar physical features.

    Bones That Tell a Tale Brian Switek 2011

  • And another thing I like about you, Renner, is your gift for introducing microcephaly into seemingly unrelated conversations.

    Castle Valley Solargraph | clusterflock 2009

  • The term ‘microcephaly’ covers a range of conditions which cause unusually small brain sizes.

    The Panda's Thumb: Jim Foley Archives 2010

  • And another thing I like about you, Renner, is your gift for introducing microcephaly into seemingly unrelated conversations.

    Castle Valley Solargraph | clusterflock 2009

  • This discovery of a new human species called Homo floresiensis has spawned much debate with some researchers claiming that the small creatures are really modern humans whose tiny head and brain are the result of a medical condition called microcephaly.

    The Volokh Conspiracy » Scientific Evidence for the Lord of the Rings 2009

  • In October last year, researchers said that the Hobbit fossil found in Flores, Indonesia did not represent a new species of hominid, but was rather a small bodied modern human who suffered from a genetic condition known as microcephaly, characterized by a small head.

    Archive 2007-01-01 2007

  • In addition, 17 patients had excessive fatigability or exercise intolerance and several children had abnormal physical exam findings including six with facial dysmorphism, four with microcephaly, four with macrocephaly, and five with growth retardation.

    David Kirby: NEW STUDY - "Mitochondrial Autism" is Real; Vaccine Triggers Cannot Be Ruled Out 2008

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