What does "occipitalis" mean?

A muscle of the head that arises from the lateral two-thirds of the superior nuchal lines and from the mastoid part of the temporal bone, inserts into the galea aponeurotica, and acts to move the scalp; it is sometimes considered to be part of the occipitofrontalis muscle.

What is a synonym for "occipitalis"?

Common synonyms include: biceps, muscle, occipitalis muscle, voluntary muscle.

How do you pronounce "occipitalis"?

Pronounced //ɑkˌsɪp.əˈteɪ.lɪs//.

Occipitalis

//ɑkˌsɪp.əˈteɪ.lɪs// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
A muscle of the head that arises from the lateral two-thirds of the superior nuchal lines and from the mastoid part of the temporal bone, inserts into the galea aponeurotica, and acts to move the scalp; it is sometimes considered to be part of the occipitofrontalis muscle.

Synonyms

All synonyms

biceps muscle occipitalis muscle voluntary muscle

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from New Latin occipitālis, ellipsis of mūsculus occipitālis (“occipital muscle”). Doublet of occipital.

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