Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

pituitary

/pɪˈtuɪˌtɛɹi/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.94 in modern English

Syllables
pi-tu-itary
IPA
/pɪˈtuɪˌtɛɹi/
14
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
5
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Of or relating to the pituitary gland.

adj

Mucous.

noun

The pituitary gland; sometimes including together with the pituitary stalk.

noun

An extract from the pituitary gland.

Etymology

Etymology tree Latin pītuīta Latin pītuītāriuslbor. English pituitary Learned borrowing from Latin pītuītārius (“mucous”), from pītuīta (“mucus, phlegm”). First attested in the 1610s. First attested as a noun by 1899. The term was adopted as the name for the gland, because it was believed that it channeled mucus to the nose.

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /pɪˈtuɪˌtɛɹi/
  • British English: /pɪˈtjuːɪt(ə)ɹi/

Inflected Forms

pituitaries (plural)

Derived Forms

adenopituitary apituitarism dyspituitarism extrapituitary hypopituitary intrapituitary neuropituitary nonpituitary panhyperpituitarism pituicyte pituitaryless hyperpituitarism

Phrases

anterior pituitary hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical pituitary body pituitary gland

Synonyms

pituital pituitous hypophysis pituitary gland pituitary body

Questions

How do you pronounce pituitary?
The recorded pronunciation is /pɪˈtuɪˌtɛɹi/.
What does pituitary mean?
Of or relating to the pituitary gland.
Where does pituitary come from?
Etymology tree Latin pītuīta Latin pītuītāriuslbor. English pituitary Learned borrowing from Latin pītuītārius (“mucous”), from pītuīta (“mucus, phlegm”). First attested in the 1610s. First attested as a noun by 1899. The term was adopted as the name for the gland, because it was believed that it channeled mucus to the nose.

How to pronounce pituitary

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “pituitary”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/pɪˈtuɪˌtɛɹi/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “pituitary”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “pituitary” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.