brachycephalic
brach·y·ce·phal·ic/ˌbɹæk.ɪ.səˈfæl.ɪk/adjective, noun
brachycephalic is spelled B-R-A-C-H-Y-C-E-P-H-A-L-I-C: 14 letters and 5 syllables (brach·y·ce·phal·ic). It appears about once in every 23 million words in written English, the 145,125th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, brachycephalic means “Having a head that is short from front to back (relative to its width from left to right); having a broad skull with a cephalic index over 80” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in brachycephalic?
| Letters | 14: B-R-A-C-H-Y-C-E-P-H-A-L-I-C |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5: brach·y·ce·phal·ic |
| In writing | about once in every 23 million words; the 145,125th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is brachycephalic?
Brachycephalic appears about once in every 23 million words in written English, the 145,125th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce brachycephalic?
- /ˌbɹæk.ɪ.səˈfæl.ɪk/
- /ˌbɹæk.ɪ.kɛˈfæl.ɪk/
- /ˌbɹæk.ɪˈsɛf.ə.lɪk/
Brachycephalic has 5 syllables, split brach·y·ce·phal·ic in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Eleanorrrrrrrrrr-brachycephalic.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of brachycephalic
- brachykephalic
- brachycephalics plural
- brachycephali plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does brachycephalic mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Having a head that is short from front to back (relative to its width from left to right); having a broad skull with a cephalic index over 80.
noun
- 1
A brachycephalic person or creature; someone with a short, broad skull, typically indicated by a cephalic index over 80.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate brachycephalic?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of brachycephalic: brachy.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Brachycephalic in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense having a head that is short from front to back:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | brachycéphale |
| Portuguese | braquicéfalo, braquicefálico |
| Spanish | braquicéfalo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does brachycephalic come from?
From brachy- + cephalic, literally “short-headed”, via New Latin brachycephalus, from Ancient Greek βραχυκέφαλος (brakhuképhalos), from βραχύς (brakhús, “short”) + κεφαλή (kephalḗ, “head”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).