isthmus

See also: Isthmus

English

WOTD – 5 November 2010
An isthmus (narrow strip of land).

Etymology

Borrowing from Latin isthmus (a strip of land between two seas), from Ancient Greek ῐ̓σθμός (isthmós, neck, narrow passage), possibly from εἶμῐ (eîmi, to go). Cognate to Old Norse eið (isthmus).

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈɪsθ.məs/, /ˈɪs.məs/, /ˈɪz.məs/
  • (General American) IPA(key): /ˈɪs.məs/
  • (obsolete) IPA(key): /ˈɪst.məs/
    • (file)
  • Rhymes: -ɪsməs

Noun

isthmus (plural isthmuses or isthmi)

  1. A narrow strip of land, bordered on both sides by water, and connecting two larger landmasses.
    Hyponym: Isthmus of Suez
  2. (anatomy) Any such narrow part connecting two larger structures.
    Hyponym: uterine isthmus
  3. (graph theory) An edge in a graph whose deletion increases the number of connected components of the graph.

Derived terms

Translations

References

Latin

Alternative forms

Etymology

Borrowing from Ancient Greek ῐ̓σθμός (isthmós, neck, narrow passage), possibly from εἶμῐ (eîmi, to go).

Pronunciation

Noun

isthmus m (genitive isthmī); second declension

  1. a strip of land between two seas; an isthmus
    1. (transferred sense, poetic) a strait

Usage notes

  • Capitalised as Isthmus, it refers to the Isthmus of Corinth.

Inflection

Second-declension noun.

Case Singular Plural
Nominative isthmus isthmī
Genitive isthmī isthmōrum
Dative isthmō isthmīs
Accusative isthmum isthmōs
Ablative isthmō isthmīs
Vocative isthme isthmī

Derived terms

Descendants

References

Further reading

  • isthmus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
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