Pam Webb

Word Nerd: Bodily Lexicon

It’s amazing how we can go in life not realizing there are specific words for everyday aspects. For instance, there are succinct terms for certain body parts that we might be totally oblivious even exist.

So–how many do you know?

1. philtrum: that little dip above your upper lip underneath your nose

2. lunula: the half moon at the bottom of your nail

3. glabella: the space between your eyes

4. canthus: the place where your upper and lower eyelids touch

5. columella: the strip of skin between your nostrils

6. purlicue: the skin fold between your thumb and index finger

7. tragus: the bump that is near your ear opening

8. uvula: the part that hangs at the back of your throat

9. gnathion: the point of the chin

10. nasion: the dip between the eyes above the nose

11. axilla: the term for armpit

12. sternum: the bone in the middle of your chest

13. zygoma: the term for your cheekbone

14. hallux: the term for your big toe

15. pinna: the outer shell of your ear

How did you do? Maybe you did better than me.

I knew “philtrum” from my university days of studying speech therapy as a possible career (which I did not pursue), “uvula”–same class, and “sternum” from taking CPR.

Now how does one work these into a conversation without sounding like a med student?

Perhaps:

“The wind blew fiercely across her zygoma and nipped her pinna, causing her to long for the cheery fireside awaiting her at home.”

Or:

“Already late for his appointment, Phillip angrily kicked the flat tire of his Mazda pickup truck immediately rendering a pain to his hallux.”

Doubtful:

“Watching the 747 taxi down the runaway, Alice closed her eyes at this final farewell, with a tear barely contained within her canthus.”