Wordwyrt

bilateral

/baɪˈlætəəl/bigh-LA-tur-uhl
/baɪˈlætɚəl/bigh-LA-tur-uhl

Meaningtwo-sided

Common meaning: on or involving two sides

‘two’ + ‘the side, flank’ → bilateral

Journey through time

  1. Latinlatus, -eris‘the side, flank’
  2. Englishbilateral‘on or involving two sides’ · today

bi- also in: bigamybicyclebicuspidbifurcatebilingual

later also in: lateral

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Latin latus ‘the side, flank’.

Did you know: our wording, based on Lewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), entry latus, p. 1042 · dictionary scan

Roots

Related words

lateral

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