pterygoid
/ˈtɛɹ.əˌɡɔɪd/adjective, noun
pterygoid is spelled P-T-E-R-Y-G-O-I-D: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 14 million words in written English, the 114,361st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, pterygoid means “Of, pertaining to or lying in the region of the inferior part of the sphenoid bone of the vertebrate skull” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in pterygoid?
| Letters | 9: P-T-E-R-Y-G-O-I-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 14 million words; the 114,361st 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 pterygoid?
Pterygoid appears about once in every 14 million words in written English, the 114,361st 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 pterygoid?
- UK /ˈtɛ.ɹɪ.ɡɔɪd/
- US /ˈtɛɹ.əˌɡɔɪd/
Pterygoid has 3 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-pterygoid.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of pterygoid
- pterygoids plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pterygoid mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of, pertaining to or lying in the region of the inferior part of the sphenoid bone of the vertebrate skull.
noun
- 1
A pterygoid part (such as a bone, muscle, or nerve).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pterygoid in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense Translations:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | ptérygoïde, ptérygoïdien |
| Spanish | pterigoideo, pterigoides |
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 pterygoid come from?
Borrowed from New Latin pterygoīdēs, from Ancient Greek πτερῠγοειδής (pterŭgoeidḗs, “like a wing”), from πτέρῠξ (ptérŭx, “a wing”) + -ο- (-o-) + -ειδής (-eidḗs, “-like, -oid”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).