sternocleidomastoides

Latin

Etymology

From sternum (“the breastbone”) +‎ Ancient Greek κλείς (kleís, “the collarbone”) +‎ mastoīdēs (“like a breast”). Doublet of sternocleidomastoīdeus.

Pronunciation

(modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [st̪er.no.kle.i.d̪o.mäs.t̪oˈiː.d̪es]

Adjective

sternocleidomastoīdēs (neuter sternocleidomastoīdes or sternocleidomastoīdēs); third-declension one-termination adjective (Greek-type) (New Latin)

(anatomy) Of or pertaining to the breastbone, collarbone and the mastoid process of the temporal bone; sternocleidomastoid.

Inflection

Third-declension one-termination adjective (Greek-type).

	masc./fem.	neuter	masc./fem.	neuter
	singular		plural
nominative	sternocleidomastoīdēs	sternocleidomastoīdes¹ sternocleidomastoīdēs	sternocleidomastoīdēs	sternocleidomastoīda sternocleidomastoīdia²
genitive	sternocleidomastoīdis		sternocleidomastoīdum sternocleidomastoīdium²
dative	sternocleidomastoīdī		sternocleidomastoīdibus
accusative	sternocleidomastoīdem	sternocleidomastoīdes¹ sternocleidomastoīdēs	sternocleidomastoīdēs	sternocleidomastoīda sternocleidomastoīdia²
ablative	sternocleidomastoīde sternocleidomastoīdī²		sternocleidomastoīdibus
vocative	sternocleidomastoīdes¹ sternocleidomastoīdēs		sternocleidomastoīdēs	sternocleidomastoīda sternocleidomastoīdia²

¹It is unknown whether Classical Latin preserved (or would have preserved) the shortness of the original Greek short ending.
²It is unknown whether adjectives of this type would use i-stem or consonant-stem endings in Classical Latin: the relevant forms are not attested. Depending on the word, either ending or both may be attested in New Latin.

Descendants

→ English: sternocleidomastoid