Word.ws English Dictionary

piriform

UK/ˈpɪ.ɹɪ.fɔːm/US/ˈpɪɹ.əˌfɔɹm/

piriform is the alternative form of pyriform.

Meaning of pyriform

Adjective

pyriform (comparative more pyriform, superlative most pyriform)

  1. Pear-shaped.
    • The chief difference between this brain and that of the Turtle obtains in the large size of the optic lobe and cerebrum as compared with the cerebellum, in the more pyriform figure of the cerebral hemispheres, and in the transverse fissure of the cerebellum.1835, Richard Owen, Descriptive and Illustrated Catalogue of the Physiological Series of Comparative Anatomy Contained in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons in London, Volume III Part I...
    Synonyms:
    peg-top shaped

See all 2 meanings of pyriform

Forms of piriform

pluralpiriforms

Origin of piriform

Borrowing from New Latin pirifōrmis, from pirum (“a pear”) + -fōrmis (“-form, -shaped”, adjectival suffix). Doublet of piriformis.

Words formed from piriform

Phrases with piriform

Words that rhyme with piriform

Questions about piriform

What is piriform the alternative form of?
Piriform is the alternative form of pyriform.
How do you pronounce piriform?
Piriform is pronounced /ˈpɪ.ɹɪ.fɔːm/ (UK).

Words near piriform in the dictionary

  1. piridosal
  2. piridoxilate
  3. Pirie
  4. Piries
  5. pirifibrate
  6. piriform
  7. piriform aperture
  8. piriform apertures
  9. piriform fossa
  10. piriform fossae
  11. piriform recess

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: piriform (page history and authors); pyriform (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “piriform.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/piriform. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.