Standard Lemma guide

genioglossus

noun · 1 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.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌd͡ʒiː.ni.ə(ʊ)ˈɡlɒs.əs/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /d͡ʒɪˌnʌɪ.əˈɡlɒs.əs/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /ˌd͡ʒi.ni.oʊˈɡlɑs.əs/
  • General-American: /ˌd͡ʒi.ni.oʊˈɡlɔs.əs/
  • rhymes with -ɒsəs
  • rhymes with -ɔːsəs

1

noun

Meaning 1

A flat, fan-shaped muscle that originates from the superior mental spine and inserts onto the undersurface of the tongue and onto the hyoid bone, acting mainly to extend, protrude or depress the tongue.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: anatomy, medicine, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Borrowed from New Latin genīoglōssus, clipping of musculus genīoglōssus (“genioglossal muscle”).

Across languages

Translations

2 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 頦舌肌 /颏舌肌 — Translations
  • Japanese: 頤舌筋 (otogaizekkin) — Translations