pituitary
UK /pɪˈtjuːɪt(ə)ɹi/ · US /pɪˈtuɪˌtɛɹi/ adjective, noun
Forms pituitaries
- adjective (anatomy) Of or relating to the pituitary gland.
- adjective Mucous.
- noun (anatomy) The pituitary gland; sometimes including together with the pituitary stalk.
- noun (medicine) An extract from the pituitary gland.
Synonyms
pituital pituitous hypophysis pituitary gland pituitary body
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin pītuītārius (“mucous”), from pītuīta (“mucus, phlegm”). First attested in the 1610s. First attested as a noun by 1899. The term was adopted as the name for the gland, because it was believed that it channeled mucus to the nose.
Webster’s 1913
Etymology [L. pituita phlegm, pituite: cf. F. pituitarie.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “pituitary”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details