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synapsid

UK/sɪˈnapsɪd/

synapsid adjective: pertaining to the class Synapsida of animals which have an opening low in the skull roof behind each eye, leaving a bony arch beneath each.

Adjective

synapsid (not comparable)

  1. Pertaining to the class Synapsida of animals which have an opening low in the skull roof behind each eye, leaving a bony arch beneath each.
    • We are synapsid tetrapods, a group of reptiles that almost went extinct 200 million years ago in competition with the better-designed dinosaurs.1999, Matt Ridley, Genome, Harper Perennial, published 2000, page 26

Noun

synapsid (plural synapsids)

  1. Any animal (all mammals) of the class Synapsida.

Synonyms of synapsid

Forms of synapsid

pluralsynapsids

Origin of synapsid

From translingual Synapsida, from syn- + Ancient Greek ἁψίς (hapsís, “arch”).

Questions about synapsid

What does synapsid mean?
Synapsid means pertaining to the class Synapsida of animals which have an opening low in the skull roof behind each eye, leaving a bony arch beneath each.
What part of speech is synapsid?
Synapsid can be an adjective or a noun.
How do you pronounce synapsid?
Synapsid is pronounced /sɪˈnapsɪd/ (UK).

Words near synapsid in the dictionary

  1. synapophysis
  2. synapse
  3. synapsed
  4. synapsemble
  5. synapses
  6. synapsid
  7. synapsids
  8. synapsin
  9. synapsing
  10. synapsins
  11. synapsis

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: synapsid (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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