acephalous

English

Etymology

From French acéphale, from Ancient Greek ἀκέφαλος (akephalos, “headless”), from ἀ- (“not”) + κεφαλή (kephalē, “head”).

Pronunciation

• IPA: /əˈsɛfələs/

Adjective

acephalous (comparative more acephalous, superlative most acephalous)

1. Headless
2. (zoology) Without a distinct head; -- a term applied to bivalve mollusks.
3. (botany) Having the style spring from the base, instead of from the apex, as is the case in certain ovaries
4. Without a leader or chief.
5. Wanting the beginning

   • A false or acephalous structure of sentence. - Thomas de Quincey

6. (prosody) Deficient in the beginning, as a line of poetry that is missing its expected opening syllable - Brande

Derived terms

• acephalously

Translations

headless

French: acéphale (fr)

Greek: ακέφαλος (akefalos)