promontory

English

WOTD – 22 September 2011
Promontory.

Etymology

From Medieval Latin prōmontōrium, from prō- + *mineō (to project or jut), from Proto-Indo-European *men- (to stand out).

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈpɹɒm.ən.tɹi/
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈpɹɑməntɔɹi/
  • (file)

Noun

promontory (plural promontories)

  1. A high point of land extending into a body of water, headland; cliff.
    Synonyms: cliff, headland, hoe
    • 1970, Ken Fitzgerald, The Space Age Photographic Atlas, Crown Publishers, page 196:
      South of Hang-chou Wan (Bay) below Shanghai, the China coastline changes from a smooth, flat topography to one of irregular, rocky promontories and numerous islands. Foochow, the Fugiu of Marco Polo, dates from the seventh century. Offshore the Ma-tsu Lieh-tao (Matsu and Pei-kan, or Changshu Islands) are heavily fortified Nationalist strongholds.
  2. (anatomy) A projecting part of the body.
    1. A projection on the sacrum.
    2. A rounded elevation in the tympanum of the ear.

Derived terms

Translations

Further reading

This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.