Ilium

//ˈɪli.əm// name, noun

name, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The upper and widest of the three bones that make up each side of the hipbone.

    "Holonyms: hip bone, os coxae < pelvis"

  2. 2
    the upper and widest of the three bones making up the hipbone wordnet
  3. 3
    The ileum, part of the small intestine (in modern usage, misspelling of ileum). obsolete
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    Troy.

Synonyms

All synonyms
ischiumpubistroy

Example

More examples

"Holonyms: hip bone, os coxae < pelvis"

Etymology

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin īlium (“lower abdomen”), from īle (“flank”).

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Latin Īlium, from Ancient Greek Ἴ̄λιον (Í̄lion). Metrical evidence from the Iliad and the Odyssey suggests that the name Ἴλιον (Ílion) formerly began with a digamma: Ϝίλιον (Wílion). Compare Hittite 𒃾𒇻𒊭 (Wi-lu-ša, “Wilusa”), usually identified with Troy, and Hittite 𒌑𒂊𒂖𒇻𒍑 (wellu-š, “pasture, meadow”), from Proto-Indo-European *wólnus (“meadow, pasture”). Cognate with English wold. By surface analysis, Ili- + -um.

Related phrases

small intestine

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.