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Glite Dictionary
🦴 Lower chest bone 🗡️ Sword-shaped
xiphoid

xiphoid

1 9.9
Shaped like a small sword at the lower end of the breastbone
  • adjective
  • /ˈzɪfɔɪd/
  • Specialized
translation icon : xifoides
  • During the examination, the physician noted the xiphoid shape of the lower section of the patient's sternum.

Examples

  • To get the length of the tube that I'm gonna need, I measure from the tip of the nose to the earlobe and down to the xiphoid process, which is here.

    Insidious (2011)

  • The doctor explained that the xiphoid point is located at the lower end of the sternum, shaped like a small sword.

  • In anatomy class, we learned that the xiphoid region relates to the structure found at the bottom of the sternum.

Compounds

xiphoid process
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A small part at the bottom of the breastbone that can feel hard

Surface Forms

xiphoid positive

Morphology

xiphoid = xiphoid process (opaque) = xipho + oid

The combining form 'xipho-' is not a standalone English word and '-oid' is a technical suffix, so the components are unlikely to help an average B1 learner derive the meaning.

Etymology

Xiphoid comes from the Greek word xiphos 'sword' and the ending -oid 'like'. So xiphoid means 'sword-like', which helps you remember it describes something shaped like a small sword at the lower end of the breastbone.