encephalon

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ἐγκέφαλος (enképhalos, “within the head”), from ἐν (en, “in”) + κεφαλή (kephalḗ, “head”).

• IPA^(key): /ɛnˈsɛfələn/, /ɛnˈsɛfəlɒn/, [ɛnˈsɛfəln̩], [ɛnˈsɛfəlɔn]; (in US, also) IPA^(key): /ɪn-/, /-ˈsɛfəlɑn/‚ [ɪnˈsɛfəɫn̩], [ɪnˈsɛfəɫɑn]

• Audio (Southern England):

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encephalon (plural encephalons or encephala)

1. (neuroanatomy, especially embryologic neuroanatomy) The area of central nervous system that includes all higher nervous centers, enclosed within the skull and continuous with the spinal cord; synonym of brain.

   Meronyms: prosencephalon, telencephalon, diencephalon; mesencephalon; rhombencephalon, metencephalon, myelencephalon