ventricle

English

Etymology

From late Middle English, from Latin ventriculus (“the belly”), diminutive of venter (“the belly”). Doublet of ventriculus.

Pronunciation

• enPR: vĕnʹtrĭk-əl, IPA^(key): /ˈvɛn.tɹɪk.əl/

  • Audio (Southern England)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛntɹɪkəl

Noun

ventricle (plural ventricles)

1. (anatomy, zootomy) Any small cavity within a body; a hollow part or organ, especially:
   1. One of two lower chambers of the heart.

      Synonym: cardioventricle

      Coordinate term: atrium

      Meronyms: left ventricle, right ventricle

      • 2018, Sandeep Jauhar, Heart: a History, →ISBN, page 47:

        The muscular ventricles pump blood by contracting their fibers in response to electrical stimulation.

   2. (neuroanatomy) One of four fluid-filled cavities in the brain, that are continuous with the central canal of the spinal cord.

      Synonym: cerebroventricle

      Meronyms: fourth ventricle, lateral ventricle, third ventricle

      • c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Loues Labour’s Lost”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene ii]:

        the ventricle of memory

   3. (archaic) The stomach.
      • 1662, Henry More, An Antidote Against Atheism, Book II: A Collection of Several Philosophical Writings of Dr. Henry More, page 72:

        [On birds] Where omitting the more general Properties, of having two Ventricles, and picking up stones to conveigh them into their second Ventricle, the Gizzern, (which provision and instinct is a supply for the want of teeth;) […]

   4. (archaic) The womb.

Derived terms

• ventricular
• ventriculate
• ventriculo-, ventricul-

Related terms

• interventricular
• intraventricular
• ventriculated
• ventriculus

Translations

one of two lower chambers of the heart

• Albanian: barkushe (sq) f
• Arabic: بُطَيْن m (buṭayn)
• Armenian: փորոք (hy) (pʻorokʻ)
• Bulgarian: камера f (kamera)
• Catalan: ventricle (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 心室 (sam¹ sat¹)

  Mandarin: 心室 (zh) (xīnshì)

• Czech: komora (cs) f
• Danish: hjertekammer, ventrikel
• Dutch: hartkamer (nl) f, ventrikel (nl) n
• Finnish: kammio (fi)
• Georgian: პარკუჭი (ṗarḳuč̣i)
• German: Herzkammer f
• Greek: κοιλία (el) f (koilía)

  Ancient: κοιλία f (koilía)

• Hebrew: חדר (he) m (heder)
• Hungarian: kamra (hu)
• Italian: ventricolo (it) m
• Japanese: 心室 (ja) (shinshitsu)
• Kazakh: қарынша (qarynşa)
• Korean: 심실 (ko) (simsil)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: zikoke m

• Latin: ventriculus m
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: ховдол (mn) (xovdol)

  Mongolian: ᠬᠣᠪᠳᠤᠯ (qobdul)

• Persian: بطن (fa) (batn)
• Polish: komora (pl) f
• Portuguese: ventrículo m
• Russian: желудочек (ru) (želudoček)
• Spanish: ventrículo (es) m
• Swedish: hjärtkammare (sv) c, kammare (sv) c, ventrikel (sv) c
• Tagalog: silid-tibukan
• Ukrainian: шлу́ночок m (šlúnočok)
• Vietnamese: tâm thất (vi)

one of the cavities of the brain

• Catalan: ventricle (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 腦室／脑室 (zh) (nǎoshì)

• Finnish: aivokammio (fi)
• Greek: κοιλία (el) f (koilía)

  Ancient: κοιλία f (koilía)

• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: zikok m

• Latin: ventriculus m
• Maori: anaroro
• Portuguese: ventrículo m
• Swedish: ventrikel (sv)
• Ukrainian: шлу́ночок m (šlúnočok)

References

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

Further reading

• “ventricle”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “ventricle”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.