Standard Lemma guide

glossopharyngeal

adj · noun · 3 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: /ˌɡlɒs.ə(ʊ).fəˈɹɪn.d͡ʒi.əl/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌɡlɒs.ə(ʊ).fəˈɹɪn.ʒi.əl/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌɡlɒs.ə(ʊ)ˌfa.ɹənˈd͡ʒiː.əl/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌɡlɒs.ə(ʊ)ˌfa.ɹn̩ˈd͡ʒiː.əl/
  • General-American: /ˌɡlɑs.oʊˌfɛɹ.ənˈd͡ʒi.əl/
  • General-American: /ˌɡlɔs.oʊˌfɛɹ.ənˈd͡ʒi.əl/
  • General-American: /ˌɡlɑs.oʊ.fəˈɹɪn.d͡ʒi.əl/
  • General-American: /ˌɡlɔs.oʊ.fəˈɹɪn.d͡ʒi.əl/
  • General-American: /ˌɡlɑs.oʊ.fəˈɹɪn.d͡ʒəl/
  • General-American: /ˌɡlɔs.oʊ.fəˈɹɪn.d͡ʒəl/
  • rhymes with -ɪndʒiəl
  • rhymes with -ɪnʒiəl
  • rhymes with -iːəl
  • rhymes with -ɪndʒəl

1

adj

Meaning 1

Pertaining to both the tongue and the pharynx.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable, relational

Topics: anatomy, medicine, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Ellipsis of glossopharyngeal nerve.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis

Topics: anatomy, medicine, neuroanatomy, neurology, neuroscience, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adjective

Meaning 3

pertaining to the tongue and throat

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Ancient Greek γλῶσσᾰ (glôssă) Ancient Greek -ο- (-o-)der. Latin -o-bor. English -o- English glosso- Latin pharynx Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Indo-European *-éyos Proto-Italic *-ejos Proto-Italic *-eos Latin -eus Late Latin pharyngeus Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālisbor. Old French -albor. ▲ Latin -ālis Old French -elbor. ▲ Latin -ālisbor. Middle English -al English -al English pharyngeal English glossopharyngeal From glosso- + pharyngeal.

Across languages

Translations

3 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 舌咽的 (shéyānde) — pertaining to the tongue and the pharynx
  • Italian: glossofaringeo — pertaining to the tongue and the pharynx
  • Spanish: glosofaríngeo — pertaining to the tongue and the pharynx