acephalous
/əˈsɛfələs/ adjective
- adjective Having no head.
- adjective (zoology, applied to bivalve mollusks) Without a distinct head.
- adjective (botany) Having the style spring from the base, instead of from the apex, as is the case in certain ovaries
- adjective (social sciences, political science, sociology) A system of society without centralised state authority, where power is welded amongst groups of community entities e.g. clans. Without a leader or chief. “an acephalous society / community”
- adjective (prosody) Deficient in the beginning, as a line of poetry that is missing its expected opening syllable.
- adjective Lacking the first portion of the text. (of a manuscript)
- adjective (rare) Without a beginning.
Synonyms
Etymology
From French acéphale, from Ancient Greek ἀκέφαλος (aképhalos, “headless”), from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + κεφαλή (kephalḗ, “head”). By surface analysis, a- + -cephalous.
Webster’s 1913
Etymology [See Acephal.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “acephalous”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details