Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

piriformis

/ˌpɪɹ.əˈfɔɹ.mɪs/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.76 in modern English

Syllables: pir-i-formis
IPA: /ˌpɪɹ.əˈfɔɹ.mɪs/

17

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

3

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A gluteal muscle which arises from the front of the sacrum and the ischium or sacrotuberous ligament, passes out of the pelvis through the greater sciatic foramen, and inserts into the greater trochanter of the femur, serving in humans to rotate the thigh laterally.

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from New Latin pirifōrmis, ellipsis of mūsculus pirifōrmis (“pear-shaped muscle”). Doublet of piriform.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˌpɪɹ.əˈfɔɹ.mɪs/
British English: /ˌpɪ.ɹɪˈfɔː.mɪs/

Inflected Forms

piriformes (plural) pyriformis (alternative)

Phrases

piriformis syndrome

Homonyms

pyriformis

Questions

How do you pronounce piriformis?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˌpɪɹ.əˈfɔɹ.mɪs/.
What does piriformis mean?: A gluteal muscle which arises from the front of the sacrum and the ischium or sacrotuberous ligament, passes out of the pelvis through the greater sciatic foramen, and inserts into the greater trochanter of the femur, serving in humans to rotate the thigh laterally.
Where does piriformis come from?: Unadapted borrowing from New Latin pirifōrmis, ellipsis of mūsculus pirifōrmis (“pear-shaped muscle”). Doublet of piriform.

How to pronounce piriformis

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Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˌpɪɹ.əˈfɔɹ.mɪs/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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