metopicadj.
/mᵻˈtɒpɪk/, U.S. /məˈtɑpɪk/ 1. Physical Anthropology. Designating the midpoint of a line drawn between the frontal tuberosities; = metopion n. rare.
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the world > life > the body > external parts of body > head > face > forehead > [adjective]
browed1483
frontal1656
metopic1878
transfrontal1889
1878 R. T. H. Bartley tr. P. Topinard Anthropol. ii. ii. 234 Metopic point.., a point situate in the median line between the two frontal eminences.
1904 Jrnl. Royal Anthropol. Inst. 34 238 The forehead is receding, and the whole sagittal curve, from the metopic point to the inion, forms a single elliptic arc.
2. Physical Anthropology, Anatomy, and Medicine. Designating the suture between the two halves of the frontal bone of the skull (also called frontal suture); of or relating to this suture. Also (of a skull): exhibiting metopism.
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the world > life > the body > structural parts > joint > joints > [adjective] > persistence of suture
metopic1879
1879 W. H. Flower Catal. Osteol. i. 14 A metopic cranium of a European.
1889 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 28 Sept. 736/2 The presence of the metopic suture is considered as an indication of criminality.
1937 Jrnl. Royal Anthropol. Inst. 67 161 Acromegalic crania are not infrequently metopic.
1959 Man 59 115/1 Ten skulls with a basal metopic suture were found.
1986 Surg. Neurol. 25 159 A ‘gull-wing’ bone flap is then formed in the frontal region, hinged forward on the metopic ridge.
2000 Amer. Jrnl. Med. Genetics 93 89 We describe an apparently unique disorder, Fronto-Ocular syndrome,..comprising trigonocephaly due to coronal and metopic craniosynostosis, ocular hypotelorism, [etc.].
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1878