cartilaginous
/ˌkɑɹ.təˈlæd͡ʒ.ən.əs/adjective
cartilaginous is an adjective meaning “Related to or resembling cartilage” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is spelled C-A-R-T-I-L-A-G-I-N-O-U-S and has 5 syllables, and it appears about once in every 5 million words in written English (wordfreq, 2021 data).
What does cartilaginous mean?
adjective
- 1
Related to or resembling cartilage.
- 2
Having a skeleton of cartilage.
Cartilaginous fish such as the angler fish have a skeletal structure made up of cartilage.
- 3
Having a tough or fibrous texture, usually in reference to a mushroom stipe.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you pronounce cartilaginous?
- UK /ˌkɑː.tɪˈlad͡ʒ.ɪn.əs/
- US /ˌkɑɹ.təˈlæd͡ʒ.ən.əs/
Cartilaginous has 5 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-cartilaginous.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of cartilaginous
- more cartilaginous comparative
- most cartilaginous superlative
- cartilagenous
- cartilagineous
- cartiliginous
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How common is cartilaginous?
Cartilaginous appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 65,913th 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).
Cartilaginous in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense comprising cartilage:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | cartilagineux |
| German | knorpelig |
| Spanish | cartilaginoso |
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 cartilaginous come from?
Borrowed from Latin cartilāginōsus (“full of cartilage, very gristly”), from cartilāgō (“cartilage, gristle”) + -ōsus (“-ous, -ose”); compare French cartilagineux. Equivalent to cartilage + -ous, with modifications made to its morphology.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).