istmo

Aragonese

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ῐ̓σθμός (ĭsthmós, “neck”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈisdmo/
• Rhymes: -isdmo
• Syllabification: ist‧mo

Noun

istmo m (plural istmos)

1. isthmus

Further reading

• Diccionario aragonés-castellano-catalán: Estudio de Filología Aragonesa (version 14, 2024 October) (in Aragonese), page 692
• "istmo", DicAra – Diccionario multilingüe aragonés, Estudio de Filología Aragonesa
• "istmo", Aragonese–Spanish, Aragonario, diccionario castellano–aragonés (in Spanish)

Galician

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₁ey-

Proto-Indo-European *-ti

Proto-Indo-European *h₁éyti

Proto-Hellenic *éimi

Ancient Greek εἶμῐ (eîmĭ)

Ancient Greek ῐ̓σθμός (ĭsthmós)bor.

Latin isthmuslbor.

Galician istmo

Learned borrowing from Latin isthmus, borrowed from Ancient Greek ῐ̓σθμός (ĭsthmós).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈistmo/ [ˈis̺t̪.mʊ]
• Rhymes: -istmo
• Hyphenation: ist‧mo

Noun

istmo m (plural istmos)

1. (geography) isthmus (narrow strip of land connecting two larger landmasses)
2. (anatomy, botany) isthmus (narrow part connecting two larger structures)

Derived terms

• ístmico
• istmite

Further reading

• “istmo”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026
• Antón Santamarina, editor (2006–2013), “istmo”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• "istmo", in Digalego: Dicionario de Galego (in Galician), Xunta de Galicia
• "istmo", in Dicionario de pronuncia da lingua galega (in Galician), Instituto da Lingua Galega, 2026

Italian

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin isthmus, from Ancient Greek ῐ̓σθμός (ĭsthmós, “neck”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈist.mo/, /ˈiz.mo/
• Rhymes: -istmo, -izmo
• Hyphenation: ìst‧mo

Noun

istmo m (plural istmi)

1. (geography) isthmus (narrow strip of land)
2. (meteorology) col (narrow zone between two high-pressure and two low-pressure regions)
3. (anatomy) isthmus (narrow part connecting two larger structures)

Derived terms

• istmico

Further reading

• “istmo”, in Collins Italian-English Dictionary
• “istmo” in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)
• “istmo” in Aldo Gabrielli, Grandi Dizionario Italiano (Hoepli)
• “istmo” in garzantilinguistica.it – Garzanti Linguistica, De Agostini Scuola Spa
• “ìstmo” in Dizionario Italiano Olivetti, Olivetti Media Communication
• istmo in sapere.it – De Agostini Editore
• “istmo”, in Vocabolario Treccani on line (in Italian), Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, 2026

Anagrams

• Mosti, misto, mosti, stimo, stimò, stomi

Portuguese

istmo

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₁ey-

Proto-Indo-European *-ti

Proto-Indo-European *h₁éyti

Proto-Hellenic *éimi

Ancient Greek εἶμῐ (eîmĭ)

Ancient Greek ῐ̓σθμός (ĭsthmós)bor.

Latin isthmuslbor.

Portuguese istmo

Learned borrowing from Latin isthmus, borrowed from Ancient Greek ῐ̓σθμός (ĭsthmós).

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈis.t͡ʃi.mu/, /ˈist͡ʃ.mu/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈis.t͡ʃi.mu/, /ˈist͡ʃ.mu/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ˈiʃ.t͡ʃi.mu/, /ˈiʃt͡ʃ.mu/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈiʃt.mu/

• Audio (Brazil (Caipira)):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ist‧mo

Noun

istmo m (plural istmos)

2. (anatomy, geography) isthmus (narrow strip of land connecting two larger landmasses)
3. (anatomy, botany) isthmus (narrow part connecting two larger structures)

   Hyponym: istmo do útero

Related terms

• ístmico

Further reading

• “istmo”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “istmo”, in Dicionário inFormal (in Portuguese), 2006–2026
• “istmo” in Dicionário Aberto based on Novo Diccionário da Língua Portuguesa de Cândido de Figueiredo, 1913
• “istmo”, in Dicionário Infopédia da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “istmo”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2026, →ISBN
• “istmo”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₁ey-

Proto-Indo-European *-ti

Proto-Indo-European *h₁éyti

Proto-Hellenic *éimi

Ancient Greek εἶμῐ (eîmĭ)

Ancient Greek ῐ̓σθμός (ĭsthmós)bor.

Latin isthmuslbor.

Spanish istmo

Learned borrowing from Latin isthmus, borrowed from Ancient Greek ῐ̓σθμός (ĭsthmós).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈisdmo/ [ˈizð̞.mo]
  • Rhymes: -isdmo
  • Syllabification: ist‧mo
• IPA^(key): /ˈismo/ [ˈiz.mo]
  • Rhymes: -ismo

Noun

istmo m (plural istmos)

1. (geography) isthmus (narrow strip of land connecting two larger landmasses)
   • 2015 November 4, Guillermo Esaín, “Diez hábitats costeros únicos en España”, in El País‎^[1], archived from the original on 14 January 2016:

     De entre los accidentes geográficos, el tómbolo destaca por su esbeltez: una lengua de arena o istmo que –solo en bajamar si le rodea el Atlántico- permite llegar a una franja de tierra.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. (anatomy) isthmus (a narrow part connecting two structures)

Derived terms

• istmeño
• ístmico
• istmo de las fauces
• istmo del encéfalo

Further reading

• “istmo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025