US /ˈɡɪbəs/ UK /ˈɡɪbəs/
adj Freq #139194

Meanings

  1. 1
    adj

    having more than half but less than all of the visible disk illuminated, especially of the moon

    A waxing gibbous moon rose above the trees before sunset.

  2. 2
    adj

    curved or bulging outward; convex

    The vessel had a gibbous side that projected beyond its base.

  3. 3
    adj

    humped or abnormally curved, especially in reference to the back

    The old medical illustration showed a gibbous curvature of the spine.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 adj · having more than half but... more-than-half-full
2 adj · curved or bulging outward;... bulgingconvexprotuberant
3 adj · humped or abnormally... humpbackedkyphotic
More humped
Opposites
Word family
Derived forms gibbosegibbositygibbouslygibbousness
Related forms gibbuskyphosis

Etymology

From Middle English gibbous, from Latin gibbus ("hump, hunch"). The astronomical sense describes the moon or a planet as visibly bulging beyond a half disk while not yet full.

Topics

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