/makˈsɪli/, /makˈsɪlʌɪ/, U.S. /mækˈsɪli/, /mækˈsɪlaɪ/.maxillan.
/makˈsɪlə/, U.S. /mækˈsɪlə//makˈsɪli/, /makˈsɪlʌɪ/, U.S. /mækˈsɪli/, /mækˈsɪlaɪ/. 1. Anatomy and Zoology. Either of the pair of bones forming the upper jaw in vertebrates.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > structural parts > bone or bones > skull > parts of skull > [noun] > jawbones > upper
cheekOE
maxilla?a1425
superior maxilla1697
maxillary1826
upper1878
?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 53 (MED) When þe bone is kutted or þe cartilage..þynne, maxillez, i. cheke bonez, þai growe noȝt.
1676 R. Wiseman Severall Chirurg. Treat. i. xix. 93 The same Patient complained of a hard Tumour fixed under that Ear and Maxilla.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) The Maxillæ are two in number, denominated from their Situation, Superior, and Inferior.
1846 F. Brittan tr. J. F. Malgaigne Man. Operative Surg. 115 The inferior posterior border of the maxilla.
1888 G. Rolleston & W. H. Jackson Forms Animal Life (ed. 2) 92 The maxilla [of the common perch], which is edentulous,..lies behind and parallel to it [sc. the præmaxilla].
1893 A. Newton et al. Dict. Birds: Pt. II 539 The word Maxilla is frequently used to express the whole of the upper jaw.
1913 Cunningham's Text-bk. Anat. (ed. 4) 146 The maxillæ, of which there are two, unite to form the upper jaw.
1969 A. Bellairs Life of Reptiles I. v. 195 If the skull of a poisonous snake is examined..it very often appears that there are two fangs in each maxilla.
1989 J. A. B. Collier & J. M. Longmore Oxf. Handbk. Clin. Specialties (ed. 2) vii. 550 Zygoma and maxilla fractures set more quickly.
2. Zoology. Either of a pair of mouthparts which are posterior and accessory to the mandibles in insects, crustaceans, and other arthropods.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > [noun] > member of > parts of > mouth-like appendage
maxilla1798
foot-jaw1828
maxilliped1846
masticatory foot1852
mouth organ1863
gnathite1870
jaw-foot1871
gnathobase1881
jaw-process1881
malipede1883
1798 Trans. Linn. Soc. 4 275 The tops of the maxillæ.
1826 W. Kirby & W. Spence Introd. Entomol. III. 47 Both labium and maxillæ being furnished with jointed moveable organs peculiar to annulose pedate animals.
1852 J. D. Dana U.S. Exploring Exped.: Crustacea Pt. I 20 The organ consists of two oblong flat lobes, in some Decapods, somewhat maxilla-like in form.
1896 J. W. Kirkaldy & E. C. Pollard tr. J. E. V. Boas Text Bk. Zool. 184 The second and third [pairs of mouth-parts in Arthropods] are known respectively as the first and second maxillæ.
1935 R. E. Snodgrass Princ. Insect Morphol. vi. 102 The gnathocephalon is the region of the insect head that supports the mandibles, the maxillae, and the labium.
1978 Sci. Amer. June 118/2 (caption) The two needlelike maxillae [of the mosquito] have fine saw-toothed tips for cutting into the skin.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.?a1425