hippocampus
UK /ˌhɪpə(ʊ)ˈkæm.pəs/ · US /ˌhɪpəˈkæm.pəs/ noun
Forms hippocampi hippocampuses
- noun (mythology) A mythological creature with the front head and forelimbs of a horse and the rear of a fish.
- noun (neuroanatomy, anatomy) A part of the brain located inside the temporal lobe, consisting mainly of grey matter. It is a component of the limbic system and plays a role in memory and emotion.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Late Latin hippocampus, from Ancient Greek ἱππόκαμπος (hippókampos, from ῐ̔́ππος (hĭ́ppos, “horse”) + κάμπος (kámpos, “sea-monster”)). The anatomy sense is so named from its resemblance to the seahorse. By surface analysis, hippo- + campus.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A fabulous monster, with the head and fore quarters of a horse joined to the tail of a dolphin or other fish (Hippocampus brevirostris), --seen in Pompeian paintings, attached to the chariot of Neptune. Fairholt.
- noun A genus of lophobranch fishes of several species in which the head and neck have some resemblance to those of a horse; --called also sea horse.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “hippocampus”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details