Standard Lemma guide

brachycephalic

adj · noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • brăk'ĭ-sə-fălʹĭk
  • brăk'ĭ-kĕ-fălʹĭk
  • /ˌbɹæk.ɪ.səˈfæl.ɪk/
  • /ˌbɹæk.ɪ.kɛˈfæl.ɪk/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • brăk'ĭ-sĕfʹə-lĭk
  • /ˌbɹæk.ɪˈsɛf.ə.lɪk/

1

adj

Meaning 1

Having a head that is short from front to back (relative to its width from left to right); having a broad skull with a cephalic index over 80.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Topics: anatomy, medicine, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: brachycephalous, brachycranial, brachycranic, brachykephalous, broad-headed, roundheaded, short-headed

Antonyms: dolichocephalic, dolichocephalous, long-headed

2

noun

Meaning 2

A brachycephalic person or creature; someone with a short, broad skull, typically indicated by a cephalic index over 80.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adjective

Meaning 3

having a short broad head with a cephalic index of over 80

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: brachycranial, brachycranic

Antonyms: dolichocephalic

4

noun

Meaning 4

an adult with a short broad head

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: adult, grownup

History

Etymology

From brachy- + cephalic, literally “short-headed”, via New Latin brachycephalus, from Ancient Greek βραχυκέφαλος (brakhuképhalos), from βραχύς (brakhús, “short”) + κεφαλή (kephalḗ, “head”).

Across languages

Translations

9 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: braquicèfal — having a head that is short from front to back
  • Finnish: lyhytkalloinen — having a head that is short from front to back
  • French: brachycéphale — having a head that is short from front to back
  • Italian: brachicefalo — having a head that is short from front to back
  • Portuguese: braquicéfalo — having a head that is short from front to back
  • Portuguese: braquicefálico — having a head that is short from front to back
  • Romanian: brahicefal — having a head that is short from front to back
  • Spanish: braquicéfalo — having a head that is short from front to back
  • Tagalog: punggok-uluhin — having a head that is short from front to back