Collum

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈkɒl.əm/

Definitions

1. A term referring to a neck or a narrow connecting part in anatomy or objects; a structural segment linking two parts in various contexts; the collarbone region or an analogous slender section in design
2. Denotes the neck area of a living being or a slender neck-like portion of an object; a connective slim part between two larger components; the region around the collarbone or a thin joining segment
3. Identifies the neck or a thin joining piece in biological or structural terms; a part linking the main body to a smaller section; the collar or narrow connecting region in anatomy and objects

Etymology: "Collum" is the Latin word for "neck," and English took it over directly, mostly as a technical term. In Latin it was used for the neck of a person or animal, and it carried over into English with the same literal sense: the part of the body joining head to torso. Because English also inherited "col" from Old French, the two words are doublets, two forms of one Latin source that reached English by different routes. Where "col" came to English through French and became an everyday word, "collum" stayed close to its Latin form and turned up in specialized contexts. Writers and scholars reached for it when they wanted a precise anatomical term rather than a familiar one, so it has remained a formal, somewhat bookish word that sounds more clinical than its common counterpart.

Synonyms: neck, collar, nape, cervix, throat