amygdala

Etymology

Because of its shape, from Latin amygdala (“almond”), from Ancient Greek ἀμυγδάλη (amugdálē, “almond”). Doublet of mandorla.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /əˈmɪɡ.də.lə/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

amygdala (plural amygdalas or amygdalae)

1. (neuroanatomy) The region of the brain, located in the medial temporal lobe, believed to play a key role in the emotions, such as fear and pleasure, in both animals and humans.
   • 2009 February 12, David Brooks, “The Worst-Case Scenario”, in New York Times‎:

     Cognitive scientists distinguish between normal risk-assessment decisions, which activate the reward-prediction regions of the brain, and decisions made amid extreme uncertainty, which generate activity in the amygdala.

Noun

amygdala f

1. amygdala

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἀμυγδάλη (amugdálē, “almond”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /aˈmyɡ.da.la/, [aˈmʏɡ.da.ɫa]

Noun

amygdala f (genitive amygdalae); first declension

1. almond tree

Noun

amygdala

1. nominative plural of amygdalum
2. accusative plural of amygdalum
3. vocative plural of amygdalum

References

• amygdala in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• amygdala in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• amygdala in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Hachette

Noun

amygdala f (plural amygdalas)

1. Obsolete spelling of amígdala