hippocampus

See also: Hippocampus

English

Etruscan statuette of a hippocamp c. 540 BCE,
Hippocampus animation (anatomy)
A human hippocampus alongside a sea horse.

Etymology

From Late Latin hippocampus, from Ancient Greek ἱππόκαμπος (hippókampos, from ῐ̔́ππος (híppos, horse) + κάμπος (kámpos, sea-monster)). The anatomy sense is so named from its resemblance to the seahorse.

Noun

hippocampus (plural hippocampi or hippocampuses)

  1. (mythology) A mythological creature with the front head and forelimbs of a horse and the rear of a dolphin.
    Synonym: hippocamp
  2. (neuroanatomy, anatomy) A part of the brain located inside the temporal lobe, consisting mainly of grey matter. It is a component of the limbic system and plays a role in memory and emotion.
    • 2019, Bill Bryson, The Body: A Guide for Occupants, Black Swan (2020), page 63:
      The hippocampus is central to the laying down of memories.

Synonyms

  • (neuroanatomy): HIPP

Holonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Further reading


Latin

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἱππόκαμπος (hippókampos, from ἵππος (híppos, horse) + κάμπος (kámpos, sea-monster)).

Pronunciation

Noun

hippocampus m (genitive hippocampī); second declension

  1. a seahorse

Declension

Second-declension noun.

Case Singular Plural
Nominative hippocampus hippocampī
Genitive hippocampī hippocampōrum
Dative hippocampō hippocampīs
Accusative hippocampum hippocampōs
Ablative hippocampō hippocampīs
Vocative hippocampe hippocampī

Descendants

References

  • hippocampus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • hippocampus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
  • hippocampus”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.