Diaphragma

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The muscular sheet below the lungs that contracts to draw air in ; a dome-shaped rubber contraceptive cap inserted over the cervix ; any membrane or wall separating two spaces or cavities
2. A muscle spanning the base of the chest that enables inhalation and exhalation ; a birth control device consisting of a flexible cup that blocks sperm ; a thin partition dividing two adjacent regions
3. The primary breathing muscle that divides the thorax from the abdomen ; a flexible contraceptive shield placed at the cervix ; a thin structural barrier that separates two distinct areas or compartments

Etymology: Ancient Greek speakers used "diaphragma" for a partition or barrier, from "dia" (through, across) and "phragma" (fence, enclosure, from "phrassein", to fence in or block). The Greek physicians Hippocrates and Galen applied it to the muscular wall separating the chest from the abdomen, and the anatomical sense has stayed with the word ever since. Its meaning spread well beyond the body. Roman writers borrowed it as "diaphragma" and later Latin and French users applied it to any thin partition, and English followed suit with uses for a thin dividing membrane or disc. The same idea shows up in devices: a thin flexible sheet that vibrates or separates two chambers, as in a telephone earpiece or a pump.

Synonyms: diaphragm, septum, partition