English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Late Middle English dorsal/dorsale, borrowing from Medieval Latin dorsālis (of or relating to the back), from dorsum (the back) +‎ -ālis (-al, adjectival suffix); equivalent to dorsum +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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dorsal (comparative more dorsal, superlative most dorsal)

  1. (anatomy, zootomy) With respect to, or concerning the side in which the backbone is located, or the analogous side of an invertebrate.
    1. (anatomy) Relating to the top surface of the foot or hand.
    2. (linguistics, of a sound) Produced using the dorsum of the tongue.
      Coordinate terms: coronal, labial, laryngeal, radical
  2. (of a knife) Having only one sharp side.
  3. (botany) Relating to the surface naturally inferior, as of a leaf.
  4. (botany) Relating to the surface naturally superior, as of a creeping hepatic moss.

Antonyms

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Coordinate terms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Noun

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Dorsal at the Church of England parish church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Weston-on-the-Green, Oxfordshire.

dorsal (plural dorsals)

  1. (art) A hanging, usually of rich stuff, at the back of a throne, altar, etc.
  2. (zootomy, in snakes) Any of the longitudinal series of plates that encircle the body, excluding the ventral scales.
  3. (linguistics) A sound produced using the dorsum of the tongue.

References

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Anagrams

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Catalan

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Etymology

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From dors +‎ -al.

Adjective

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dorsal m or f (masculine and feminine plural dorsals)

  1. rear
  2. (anatomy, linguistics) dorsal

Derived terms

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Noun

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dorsal m (plural dorsals)

  1. backplate (of a cuirass)
  2. (zoology) shell, elytron
  3. (sports) number

Noun

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dorsal f (plural dorsals)

  1. (meteorology) ridge
    Antonym: tàlveg
  2. (geomorphology) ridge (on the ocean floor)

Derived terms

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Further reading

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French

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French Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia fr

Etymology

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Inherited from Old French, from Latin dorsum with adjective-forming suffix -al.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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dorsal (feminine dorsale, masculine plural dorsaux, feminine plural dorsales)

  1. dorsal

Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • Dutch: dorsaal

Further reading

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German

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Pronunciation

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Adjective

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dorsal (strong nominative masculine singular dorsaler, not comparable)

  1. dorsal

Declension

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Interlingua

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Adjective

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dorsal (not comparable)

  1. dorsal

Portuguese

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Pronunciation

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  • Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
  • Hyphenation: dor‧sal

Adjective

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dorsal m or f (plural dorsais, not comparable)

  1. (anatomy) dorsal (of the back)
  2. (anatomy) dorsal (of the top surface of a hand or foot)

Derived terms

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Noun

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dorsal f (plural dorsais)

  1. (geology) ridge
    Synonym: dorsal oceânica
  2. (linguistics) dorsal

Romanian

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Etymology

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Borrowed from French dorsal.

Adjective

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dorsal m or n (feminine singular dorsală, masculine plural dorsali, feminine and neuter plural dorsale)

  1. dorsal

Declension

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Spanish

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Etymology

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From Latin dorsālis.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /doɾˈsal/ [d̪oɾˈsal]
  • Rhymes: -al
  • Syllabification: dor‧sal

Adjective

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dorsal m or f (masculine and feminine plural dorsales)

  1. (anatomy) dorsal

Derived terms

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Noun

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dorsal m (plural dorsales)

  1. ridge

Derived terms

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Further reading

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