Pachycephalic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Characterized by an unusual thickening of the bones of the skull, often resulting in a broadened or enlarged head
2. Marked by excessive bone density and thickness in the cranium, giving the head a notably robust or massive appearance
3. Describing a condition in which the skull has become disproportionately thick and heavy compared to normal human anatomy

Etymology: Pachycephalic is built from two Greek elements. "Pakhys" meant "thick" or "stout," and "kephalē" meant "head," so the word literally describes a thick-headed or thick-skulled person. The second element, "-cephalic," is the familiar scientific suffix used to describe the shape or size of the skull, as in dolichocephalic (long-headed) and brachycephalic (broad-headed). The compound is a technical coinage rather than an ancient term. Its parts come from classical Greek, but the combined word was made by modern anthropologists and physicians who needed precise vocabulary for measuring skulls and describing skull thickness. Ancient Greeks would have had no use for it, since the medical and anatomical classification of skull types developed in the modern period. In medical usage, the word is applied to a condition in which the skull is abnormally thick, most notably in pachycephalosaurs, a group of dinosaurs whose domed skulls gave them their name. Its primary application remains descriptive and specialist.

Synonyms: thick-skulled, pachycephalous

Antonyms: dolichocephalic, leptocephalic