uvula
English
WOTD – 4 November 2008
Etymology
Borrowed from Late Latin ūvula, diminutive of ūva (“grape”).
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈjuː.vjʊl.ə/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈju.vjəl.ə/
Audio (General American): (file) Audio (General American): (file) Audio (General Australian): (file) - Homophone: uvular (non-rhotic)
Noun
uvula (plural uvulae or uvulas or (obsolete) uvulæ)
- (anatomy) Ellipsis of palatine uvula, the fleshy appendage that hangs from the back of the soft palate, that closes the nasopharynx during swallowing.
- Synonym: staphyle
- (anatomy) the slight elevation in the mucous membrane immediately behind the internal urethral orifice of the urinary bladder, caused by the middle lobe of the prostate
- (music) an object so suspended inside a bell that it may hit the bell and cause it to ring; a clapper
Derived terms
Related terms
- uvular (adjective)
Translations
appendage that hangs from the palate
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References
- “uvula”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
- “uvula”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
French
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from Late Latin ūvula (“small grape”), diminutive of Latin ūva. Doublet of uvule, another borrowing.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /y.vy.la/
Noun
uvula f (plural uvulas)
Latin
Etymology
From ūva (“a grape”) + -ula (“diminutive suffix”).
Pronunciation
- (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [ˈuː.wʊ.ɫa]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [ˈuː.vu.la]
Noun
ūvula f (genitive ūvulae); first declension (Late Latin)
- diminutive of ūva
Inflection
First-declension noun.
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
nominative | ūvula | ūvulae |
genitive | ūvulae | ūvulārum |
dative | ūvulae | ūvulīs |
accusative | ūvulam | ūvulās |
ablative | ūvulā | ūvulīs |
vocative | ūvula | ūvulae |
Descendants
Borrowings:
- → Catalan: úvula
- → English: uvula
- → French: uvula, uvule
- → Galician: úvula
- → German: Uvula
- → Hungarian: uvula
- → Indonesian: uvula
- → Italian: uvula
- → Macedonian: у́вула (úvula)
- → Malay: uvula
- → Occitan: uvula
- → Portuguese: úvula
- → Romanian: uvulă
- → Russian: у́вула (úvula)
- → Serbo-Croatian: ȕvula, увула
- → Slovene: uvula
- → Spanish: úvula
- → Yiddish: אוּוווּלע (uvule)
Malay
Etymology
From Late Latin ūvula (“little grape”), diminutive of Latin ūva (“grape”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /uvula/
Noun
uvula (Jawi spelling اوۏولا, plural uvula-uvula)
- (anatomy) (appendage that hangs from the palate)