scaph(o)-
Boat-shaped.
[Greek skaphos, boat.]
Scaphocephaly (Greek kephalē, head) is a congenital malformation of the head which gives it an unusually long and narrow shape; something scaphoid is boat-shaped (—as a noun it is the name of a boat-shaped bone in the wrist); a scaphopod (Greek pous, pod-, foot) is a type of burrowing marine mollusc, which has a tusk-shaped shell with both ends open.
Visit Michael Quinion’s World Wide Words site for 2000+ articles on English!
Copyright © Michael Quinion 2008–. All rights reserved. Page last updated 23 September 2008.
Your comments and suggestions on the site are very welcome.