epiphysis

Questions about epiphysis

What does epiphysis mean?

epiphysis means "the end of a long bone; initially separated from the main bone by a layer of cartilage that eventually ossifies so the parts become fused". That is the primary sense; the word has 2 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in epiphysis?

epiphysis has 4 syllables and divides as e-pi-phy-sis under the regular spelling rules. It is not in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, so that comes from how the word is written rather than from a recorded pronunciation, and no stress or phonetic transcription is claimed for it.

What is another word for epiphysis?

Close synonyms include pineal gland, pineal body, epiphysis cerebri. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is epiphysis a common word?

epiphysis is banded "Rare" — specialist or archaic — most readers will not have met it. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.