Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

cleithrum

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables: clei-thrum
IPA

16

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

2

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A large bone in fishes, which extends upward from the base of the pectoral fin and anchors to the cranium above the gills, forming the posterior edge of the gill chamber.

Example Sentences

"The secondary arch consists of four pieces of bone, the posttemporal, supracleithrum, cleithrum and postcleithrum.[…]The cleithrum is the largest piece and the other elements are attached to it."
"The main components of which are, from dorsal to ventral, the post-temporal, supracleithrum, cleithrum and the postcleithra.[…]The cleithra of either side of the body are connected with the pharyngeal jaw apparatus and with the urohyal by the bilateral pharyngocleithralis musculature and the median sternohyoideus muscle."
"In Ichthyostega (Figs 5.2, 5.11), Acanthostega (Fig. 5.20), and also in Hynerpeton (Fig. 5.28C, D) and Ventastega, the cleithrum was relatively reduced, though it was still a substantial dorsally extensive blade."

Etymology

From Ancient Greek κλεῖθρον (kleîthron).

Origin

Source language: Ancient Greek

Word Breakdown

Root: κλεῖθρον

Inflected Forms

cleithra (plural)

Derived Forms

anocleithrum cleithral extracleithrum postcleithrum supracleithrum

Questions

What does cleithrum mean?: A large bone in fishes, which extends upward from the base of the pectoral fin and anchors to the cranium above the gills, forming the posterior edge of the gill chamber.
Where does cleithrum come from?: It is traced to Ancient Greek.

How to pronounce cleithrum

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