splenius

English

Alternative forms

• splenius muscle

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin splēnius, from splēnium (“a plaster, patch”) +‎ -ius (adjectival suffix).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈspliː.ni.əs/
• Rhymes: -iːniəs

Noun

splenius (plural splenii)

1. (anatomy) Either of two flat oblique muscles which are attached to the vertebrae on each side of the neck and upper thoracic region and which draw back the head.
   • 1969, Владимир Набоков, Ada or Ardor, Penguin 2011, page 89:

     He caressed and parted [...] her lank loose, nearly lumbus-length (when she threw her head back as now) black silks as he tried to get at her bed-warm splenius.

References

• “splenius”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “splenius”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

Anagrams

• spinules

Latin

Etymology

From splēnium (“a plaster, patch”) +‎ -ius (adjectival suffix), from Ancient Greek σπληνίον (splēníon, “pad or compress of linen laid on a wound”).

Pronunciation

• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈsple.ni.us/, [ˈsplɛːnius]

Adjective

splēnius (feminine splēnia, neuter splēnium); first/second-declension adjective

1. (New Latin) Shaped like a plaster or patch.

   musculus splēnius ― the splenius muscle

Inflection

First/second-declension adjective.

	singular				plural
	masculine	feminine	neuter		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	splēnius	splēnia	splēnium		splēniī	splēniae	splēnia
genitive	splēniī	splēniae	splēniī		splēniōrum	splēniārum	splēniōrum
dative	splēniō	splēniae	splēniō		splēniīs
accusative	splēnium	splēniam	splēnium		splēniōs	splēniās	splēnia
ablative	splēniō	splēniā	splēniō		splēniīs
vocative	splēnie	splēnia	splēnium		splēniī	splēniae	splēnia

Descendants

→ English: splenius