occipital

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   relating to or located at the back of the head, especially the occipital bone or lobe

   The scan showed a fracture near the occipital bone at the back of the skull.

2. 2
   noun

   an occipital bone or, in zoology, an occipital scale

   The anatomist compared the left occipital with the surrounding skull bones.

Borrowed through French occipital from Medieval Latin occipitalis, formed from Latin occiput, 'the back of the head,' + -alis, the source of English -al. The anatomical adjective retains that literal location.

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