Thyroid

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: thy + roid
• IPA: /ˈθaɪrɔɪd/

Origin

From French thyroïde coined by Ambroise Paré, after Ancient Greek θυρεός (thyreos, "a large oblong shield") + εἶδος (eidos, "a form, shape").

Full definition of thyroid

Noun

1. (anatomy) The thyroid gland.
• Israel is one of the few countries that widely fluoridates, besides the United States, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and Australia. Fluoridation, the addition of fluoride to public drinking water supplies to reduce cavities, is the subject of intense controversy, especially outside of the United States. But opposition to the practice, on the grounds that fluoride has adverse effects on the thyroid, brain and bones, and is an unethical form of mass-medication, appears to be growing.
2. The thyroid cartilage.
3. (medicine) A preparation obtained from the thyroid gland.

Derived terms

• antithyroidal
• thyroidal
• hyperthyroid
• hyperthyroidism
• hypothyroid
• hypothyroidism
• thyroid cartilage
• thyroid gland
• thyroidization