Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

fontanelle

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: 1.80 in modern English

Syllables
fontanelle
IPA
13
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
1
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A soft membraneous spot on the head of a baby due to incomplete fusion of the cranial bones.

noun

A structural component of some woodwind instruments, such as recorders and shawms, resembling a barrel with holes bored into it, designed to protect the keywork and to allow the sound to project.

Etymology

Borrowed from French fontanelle, from Old French fontenelle, a diminutive of fontaine (“fountain, spring”) + -elle, from Late Latin fontāna, from Latin fontānus, from font- + -ānus. By surface analysis, font + -an + -elle.

Origin

Word Breakdown

Inflected Forms

fontanelles (plural) fontanel (alternative)

Derived Forms

fontanellar transfontanelle

Synonyms

soft spot fontanel

Questions

What does fontanelle mean?
A soft membraneous spot on the head of a baby due to incomplete fusion of the cranial bones.
Where does fontanelle come from?
It is traced to French.

How to pronounce fontanelle

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  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
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