Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Hippocampus
Hipˊpo-cam′pus
,Noun.
[L., the sea horse, Gr. [GREEK] a hippocampus (in senses 1 and 2);
ἵπποσ
horse + [GREEK] to bend.] 1.
(Class. Myth.)
A fabulous monster, with the head and fore quarters of a horse joined to the tail of a dolphin or other fish (
Hippocampus brevirostris
), – seen in Pompeian paintings, attached to the chariot of Neptune. Fairholt.
2.
(Zool.)
A genus of lophobranch fishes of several species in which the head and neck have some resemblance to those of a horse; – called also
sea horse
. ☞ They swim slowly, in an erect position, and often cling to seaweeds by means of the incurved prehensile tail. The male has a ventral pouch, in which it carries the eggs till hatched.
3.
(Zool.)
A name applied to either of two ridges of white matter in each lateral ventricle of the brain. The larger is called hippocampus major or simply hippocampus. The smaller, hippocampus minor, is called also
ergot
and calcar
. Definition 2024
Hippocampus
Hippocampus
See also: hippocampus
Translingual
Proper noun
Hippocampus m
- A taxonomic genus within the family Syngnathidae – the seahorses.
Translations
genus Hippocampus
|
hippocampus
hippocampus
See also: Hippocampus
English
Noun
hippocampus (plural hippocampi)
- A mythological creature with the front head and forelimbs of a horse and the rear of a dolphin; a hippocamp.
- (anatomy) A part of the brain located inside the temporal lobe, consisting mainly of grey matter. It is a component of the limbic system and plays a role in memory and emotion. So named because of its resemblance to the seahorse.
Abbreviations
- (neuroanatomy): HIPP
Derived terms
Translations
mythological creature
brain region
|
Latin
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Ancient Greek ἵππος (horse) and κάμπος (sea monster).
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /hip.poˈkam.pus/, [hɪp.pɔˈkam.pʊs]
Noun
hippocampus m (genitive hippocampī); second declension
- a seahorse
Inflection
Second declension.
Case | Singular | Plural |
---|---|---|
nominative | hippocampus | hippocampī |
genitive | hippocampī | hippocampōrum |
dative | hippocampō | hippocampīs |
accusative | hippocampum | hippocampōs |
ablative | hippocampō | hippocampīs |
vocative | hippocampe | hippocampī |
References
- hippocampus in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- Félix Gaffiot (1934), “hippocampus”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette.
- hippocampus in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers