# dorsal
## English
### Alternative forms

* (hanging): dossal

### Etymology

From Late Middle English dorsal/dorsale, borrowing from Medieval Latin dorsālis (“of or relating to the back”), from dorsum (“the back”) +‎ -ālis (“-al”, adjectival suffix); equivalent to dorsum +‎ -al.

### Pronunciation

* (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /ˈdɔː.səl/, /ˈdɔː.sl̩/
* Audio (Southern England):(file)
* (General American) IPA: /ˈdɔɹ.səl/
* Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)səl

### Adjective

dorsal (comparative more dorsal, superlative most dorsal)
* (anatomy, zootomy) With respect to, or concerning the side in which the backbone is located, or the analogous side of an invertebrate.
** (anatomy) Relating to the top surface of the foot or hand.
** (linguistics, of a sound) Produced using the dorsum of the tongue.
    Coordinate terms: coronal, labial, laryngeal, radical
* (of a knife) Having only one sharp side.
* (botany) Relating to the surface naturally inferior, as of a leaf.
* (botany) Relating to the surface naturally superior, as of a creeping hepatic moss.

#### Usage notes

* The meanings of dorsal and ventral in botany are somewhat arbitrary, since in botanical usage the concept of a front or back surface is not clearly defined. Compare abaxial, adaxial.

#### Antonyms

* ventral

#### Coordinate terms

* anterior
* distal
* dorsal
* lateral
* medial
* posterior
* proximal
* ventral

#### Derived terms

* anterodorsal, anteriodorsal
* apicodorsal
* basidorsal
* bidorsal
* caudodorsal
* centrodorsal
* cervicodorsal
* craniodorsal
* distodorsal
* dorsal body hormone
* dorsal fin
* dorsal hood
* dorsalisation
* dorsalization
* dorsalize, dorsalise
* dorsally
* dorsalmost
* dorsal nasal artery
* dorsal root
* dorsal root ganglion
* dorsal slit
* dorsal striatum
* dorsal vessel
* dorsalward, dorsalwards
* holodorsal
* humerodorsal
* interdorsal
* intermediodorsal
* labiodorsal
* laterodorsal
* lumbodorsal
* lumbo-dorsal
* mediodorsal
* mesodorsal, mesiodorsal
* middorsal
* nondorsal
* oculodorsal
* postdorsal
* posterodorsal
* predorsal
* prodorsal
* proximodorsal
* retrodorsal
* rostrodorsal
* sacrodorsal
* subdorsal
* superodorsal
* supradorsal
* temporodorsal
* thoracodorsal
* ventrodorsal

#### Related terms

* dossier
* endorse, indorse
* tabes dorsalis

#### Translations

    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

### Noun

dorsal (plural dorsals)
* (art) A hanging, usually of rich stuff, at the back of a throne, altar, etc.
* (zootomy, in snakes) Any of the longitudinal series of plates that encircle the body, excluding the ventral scales.
* (linguistics) A sound produced using the dorsum of the tongue.

### References

* “dorsal”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
* “dorsal”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

### Anagrams

* lardos

## Catalan
### Etymology

From dors +‎ -al.

### Adjective

dorsal m or f (masculine and feminine plural dorsals)
* rear
* (anatomy, linguistics) dorsal

#### Derived terms

* aleta dorsal

### Noun

dorsal m (plural dorsals)
* backplate (of a cuirass)
* (zoology) shell, elytron
* (sports) number

### Noun

dorsal f (plural dorsals)
* (meteorology) ridge
    Antonym: tàlveg
* (geomorphology) ridge (on the ocean floor)

#### Derived terms

* dorsal oceànica

### Further reading

* “dorsal” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

## French
### Etymology

Inherited from Old French, from Latin dorsum with adjective-forming suffix -al.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /dɔʁ.sal/
* Audio:(file)

### Adjective

dorsal (feminine dorsale, masculine plural dorsaux, feminine plural dorsales)
* dorsal

#### Derived terms

* épine dorsale
* nageoire dorsale

#### Descendants

* → Dutch: dorsaal

### Further reading

* “dorsal”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

## German
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /dɔʁˈzaːl/
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -aːl

### Adjective

dorsal (strong nominative masculine singular dorsaler, not comparable)
* dorsal

#### Declension
## Interlingua
### Adjective

dorsal (not comparable)
* dorsal

## Portuguese
### Pronunciation

* (Brazil) IPA: /doʁˈsaw/ [dohˈsaʊ̯]
* (Brazil) IPA: /doʁˈsaw/ [dohˈsaʊ̯]
** (São Paulo) IPA: /doɾˈsaw/ [doɾˈsaʊ̯]
** (Rio de Janeiro) IPA: /doʁˈsaw/ [doχˈsaʊ̯]
** (Southern Brazil) IPA: /doɻˈsaw/ [doɻˈsaʊ̯]
* (Portugal) IPA: /dɔɾˈsal/ [dɔɾˈsaɫ]
* (Portugal) IPA: /dɔɾˈsal/ [dɔɾˈsaɫ]
** (Southern Portugal) IPA: /dɔɾˈsa.li/
* Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw
* Hyphenation: dor‧sal

### Adjective

dorsal m or f (plural dorsais, not comparable)
* (anatomy) dorsal (of the back)
* (anatomy) dorsal (of the top surface of a hand or foot)

#### Derived terms

* dorsalmente

### Noun

dorsal f (plural dorsais)
* (geology) ridge
    Synonym: dorsal oceânica
* (linguistics) dorsal

## Romanian
### Etymology

Borrowed from French dorsal.

### Adjective

dorsal m or n (feminine singular dorsală, masculine plural dorsali, feminine and neuter plural dorsale)
* dorsal

#### Declension
## Spanish
### Etymology

From Latin dorsālis.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /doɾˈsal/ [d̪oɾˈsal]
* Rhymes: -al
* Syllabification: dor‧sal

### Adjective

dorsal m or f (masculine and feminine plural dorsales)
* (anatomy) dorsal

#### Derived terms

* aleta dorsal
* dorsalmente
* espina dorsal
* toracodorsal

### Noun

dorsal m (plural dorsales)
* ridge

#### Derived terms

* dorsal ancho

#### Related terms

* dorso

### Further reading

* “dorsal”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10