steatopygous

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   having steatopygia, a marked accumulation of adipose tissue around the buttocks and upper thighs; chiefly a historical anthropological term

   The museum retained steatopygous only in a quotation from an older anthropological catalog and supplied modern historical context.

From steatopygia + -ous. Steatopygia combines Greek stear, steatos ("fat, tallow") with pyge ("buttocks, rump"). The adjective is now uncommon and is strongly associated with nineteenth- and early twentieth-century physical anthropology, so historical applications to ethnic groups require care and context.

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