Brachycephalic

Origin

From - + cephalic, literally “short-headed”.

Full definition of brachycephalic

Adjective

1. (of a person or animal) Having a head that is short from front to back (relative to its width from left to right).
• 1996, William H. Tucker, The Science and Politics of Racial Research, Also a subject of extensive investigation was the cephalic index, a measurement of the general shape of the skull, defined as the ratio of its breadth to its length multiplied by one hundred to eliminate the decimal point. Ratios below seventy-five indicated skulls that were long and narrow, termed “dolichocephalic”; those between seventy-five and eight, slightly broader or “mesocephalic”; and even rounder heads with ratios above eighty were called “brachycephalic.”

Noun

1. A brachycephalic person.

Related terms

• brachycephaly, brachycephalism, brachycephalous
• dolichocephalic