orbicular

English

WOTD – 6 September 2010

Etymology

From the Late Latin orbiculāris, from Latin orbiculus, diminutive of orbis (“orb”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ɔːˈbɪk.jə.lə/, /ɔːˈbɪk.jʊ.lə/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ɔɹˈbɪk.ju.lɚ/, /ɔɹˈbɪk.jə.lɚ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪkjʊlə(ɹ)

Adjective

orbicular (comparative more orbicular, superlative most orbicular)

1. Circular or spherical in shape; round.
   • 1731 The Gentleman's Magazine, Weekly Essays in June 1731, Craftman, Sat. June 5, No. 257, "round+robin" p. 238:

     […] the Method used by Sailors when they mutiny, by signing their names in an orbicular manner, which they call a round Robin; […]

   • 1854, Thomas De Quincey, “On Murder, Considered as One of the Fine Arts. Postscript.”, in Miscellanies (De Quincey’s Works; IV), London: James Hogg & Sons, →OCLC, page 76:

     The whole covey of victims was thus netted; the household ruin was thus full and orbicular; and in that proportion the tendency of men and women, flutter as they might, would be helplessly and hopelessly to sink into the all-conquering hands of the mighty murderer.

Derived terms

• orbicular stigma

 

Related terms

• orb
• orbicularly
• orbicularity

Translations

circular or spherical in shape

Armenian: կլորաձև (hy) (klorajew), գնդակերպ (hy) (gndakerp), կլոր (hy) (klor) Finnish: kehämäinen French: orbiculaire (fr), sphérique (fr) German: orbikular, kugelförmig (de) Italian: sferico (it) Ottoman Turkish: یومرو (yumru), طوپاق (topak) Russian: кру́глый (ru) (krúglyj), сферический (ru) (sferičeskij), шарообразный (ru) (šaroobraznyj), сфероидальный (ru) (sferoidalʹnyj) Spanish: orbicular, esférico (es)

Anagrams

• courbaril

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French orbiculaire, from Latin orbicularis.

Adjective

orbicular m or n (feminine singular orbiculară, masculine plural orbiculari, feminine and neuter plural orbiculare)

1. orbicular

Declension

		singular				plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine		masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative- accusative	indefinite	orbicular		orbiculară		orbiculari	orbiculare
	definite	orbicularul		orbiculara		orbicularii	orbicularele
genitive- dative	indefinite	orbicular		orbiculare		orbiculari	orbiculare
	definite	orbicularului		orbicularei		orbicularilor	orbicularelor

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /oɾbikuˈlaɾ/ [oɾ.β̞i.kuˈlaɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: or‧bi‧cu‧lar

Adjective

orbicular m or f (masculine and feminine plural orbiculares)

1. orbicular

Derived terms

• músculo orbicular

 

Noun

orbicular m (plural orbiculares)

1. orbicular muscle

Derived terms

• orbicular de los párpados

 

Further reading

• “orbicular”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10