Standard Lemma guide

pituitary

adj · noun · 6 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.

  • UK: /pɪˈtjuːɪt(ə)ɹi/
  • UK: /pɪˈt͡ʃuːɪt(ə)ɹi/
  • US: /pɪˈtuɪˌtɛɹi/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: P AH0 T UW1 AH0 T EH2 R IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
  • CMU ARPABET 2: P IH0 T UW1 IH0 T EH2 R IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Of or relating to the pituitary gland.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Topics: anatomy, medicine, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Mucous.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: pituital, pituitous

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

The pituitary gland; sometimes including together with the pituitary stalk.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: anatomy, medicine, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: hypophysis

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

An extract from the pituitary gland.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: medicine, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

adjective

Meaning 5

of or relating to the pituitary gland

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • pituitary hormone

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

the master gland of the endocrine system; located at the base of the brain

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: pituitary gland, pituitary body, hypophysis

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: endocrine gland, endocrine, ductless gland

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Latin pītuīta Latin pītuītāriuslbor. English pituitary Learned borrowing from Latin pītuītārius (“mucous”), from pītuīta (“mucus, phlegm”). First attested in the 1610s. First attested as a noun by 1899. The term was adopted as the name for the gland, because it was believed that it channeled mucus to the nose.

Across languages

Translations

19 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: نُخَامِيّ (nuḵāmiyy) — of or relating to the pituitary gland
  • Bulgarian: хипофизен (hipofizen) — of or relating to the pituitary gland
  • Catalan: pituïtari — of or relating to the pituitary gland
  • Chinese Mandarin: 腦垂體的 /脑垂体的 (nǎochuítǐ de) — of or relating to the pituitary gland
  • Chinese Mandarin: 垂體的 /垂体的 (chuítǐ de) — of or relating to the pituitary gland
  • Dutch: hypofysaal — of or relating to the pituitary gland
  • Esperanto: hipofiza — of or relating to the pituitary gland
  • French: pituitaire — of or relating to the pituitary gland
  • French: hypophysaire — of or relating to the pituitary gland
  • Gujarati: કફોત્પાદક (kaphotpādak) — of or relating to the pituitary gland
  • Icelandic: dingul- — of or relating to the pituitary gland
  • Ido: hipofizala — of or relating to the pituitary gland
  • Irish: piotútach — of or relating to the pituitary gland
  • Polish: przysadkowy — of or relating to the pituitary gland
  • Portuguese: pituitário — of or relating to the pituitary gland
  • Portuguese: hipofisário — of or relating to the pituitary gland
  • Spanish: pituitario — of or relating to the pituitary gland
  • Welsh: pitwidol — of or relating to the pituitary gland
  • Polish: wydzielina przysadki mózgowej — extract from the pituitary gland