pharynx

noun phar·ynx \ ˈfer-iŋ(k)s , ˈfa-riŋ(k)s \

|Updated on: 12 Jun 2018

Definition of pharynx

plural pharynges play \fə-ˈrin-(ˌ)jēz\ also pharynxes

1 : the muscular tubular passage of the vertebrate digestive and respiratory tracts extending from the back of the nasal cavity and mouth to the esophagus — compare nasopharynx, oropharynx

2 : a differentiated part of the digestive tract in some invertebrates that may be thickened and muscular, eversible and toothed, or adapted as a suctorial organ

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See pharynx defined for kids

Recent Examples of pharynx from the Web

The ten other cancers cited are: endometrial; gallbladder; kidney; liver; mouth, pharynx and larynx; oesophageal; ovarian; pancreatic; prostrate; stomach.

— brett molina, USA TODAY, "Report: Obesity linked to 12 types of cancers, including breast and colorectal," 24 May 2018
The researchers say drinking alcohol is connected to mouth, pharynx, larynx, oesophagus, liver, colorectal, breast and stomach cancers, and that even small amounts can increase some of those risks.

— scott berson, miamiherald, "Cut out fruit juice to slash your chance of getting cancer, experts say. Also bacon. | Miami Herald," 24 May 2018
Zenker’s diverticulum is a pouch that forms where the pharynx, or voicebox, meets the esophagus.

— sandra g. boodman, Washington Post, "She’d lost a lot of weight and had trouble swallowing. Was she dying?," 17 Mar. 2018
In the lungs, the larvae claw their way out of the organ's tiny air sacs and then clamber up to the windpipe to the pharynx to be coughed and swallowed.

— beth mole, Ars Technica, "Couple freaks after tabloids spread medical pics of their worm-infested bums," 1 Mar. 2018
Sipping hot fluids helps to warm the bottom of your nasal pharynx, which can also help improve symptoms, Saketkhoo explained.

— lisa drayer, CNN, "Does chicken soup really help fight a cold?," 9 Mar. 2018
In the emergency room, X-rays showed that the pent-up pressure from the sneeze had escaped the windpipe and ripped the soft tissue of his pharynx.

— sarah rense, Esquire, "Here's Why You Should Never Hold in a Sneeze," 16 Jan. 2018
The other type of reflux involves the upper part of the throat that includes the voicebox and pharynx, or the back of the mouth .

— alice park, Time, "Acid Reflux May Respond Better To Diet Than Drugs," 7 Sep. 2017
The flow of water is powered by beating tails on the cells of the basket/pharynx.

— jennifer frazer, Scientific American Blog Network, "Alien Creature Swarming Oregon's Coast Is Actually a Close Relative [Video]," 10 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pharynx.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of pharynx

borrowed from Medieval Latin pharyng-, pharynx (also Latinized early as pharynga, faringa), borrowed from Greek phárynx, pháryx "throat, gullet, pharynx," akin to pháranx "gully, chasm," of pre-Indo-European origin

Note: Greek phárynx (Homeric pháryx) has in the older scholarly literature been linked with Latin frūmen "upper part of the throat" (a word mentioned only in 4th/5th-century scholia on Terence and Virgil), Armenian erbuc, -oy "breast (of sacrificial animals)," Old Norse barki "windpipe, throat" (hence, for example, Frisk in Griechisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg, 1960-72, who posits, in pre-laryngealist notation), *bhr̥rug- > pharyg-, *bhrug-s-men- > frūmen), with a further connection to the Indo-European verb bherH- "work with a sharp instrument, cut, split, bore" (see ¹bore). More recently, however, Beekes (Etymological Dictionary of Greek, Brill, 2010, s.v.; Pre-Greek: Phonology, Morphology, Lexicon, Brill, 2014, pp. 44, 50-51) regards phárynx, pháryx and pháranx as substratal vocabulary of non-Indo-European origin, along with other terrain terms such as spêlynx "cave," sêranx "cavity hollowed out by water," láïnges "small stones" (Homer). Diagnostic are the suffix -Vng- and the alternation between nasal and non-nasal forms (pharyng-/pharyg-), perhaps reflecting a pre-nasalized stop in the substratal language. In the case of the base phar-, it is uncertain if the original sense was anatomical or topographical. The resemblance of Greek pharang- "gully, chasm" with pre-Romance *barrank- (whence Spanish barranco, barranca, etc.; see barranca) is striking and can hardly be ignored, though it does not settle the issue.

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First Known Use: 1638

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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PHARYNX Defined for English Language Learners

pharynx

noun

Definition of pharynx for English Language Learners

medical : the part inside your mouth where the passages of the nose connect to your mouth and throat

PHARYNX Defined for Kids

pharynx

noun phar·ynx \ ˈfer-iŋks \

Definition of pharynx for Students

plural pharynges \fə-ˈrin-ˌjēz\ also pharynxes

: a tube extending from the back of the nasal passages and mouth to the esophagus that is the passage through which air passes to the larynx and food to the esophagus

Medical Dictionary

pharynx

noun phar·ynx \ ˈfar-iŋ(k)s \

medical Definition of pharynx

plural pharynges play \fə-ˈrin-(ˌ)jēz\ also pharynxes

: the part of the digestive and respiratory tracts situated between the cavity of the mouth and the esophagus and in humans being a conical musculomembranous tube about four and a half inches (11.43 centimeters) long that is continuous above with the mouth and nasal passages, communicates through the eustachian tubes with the ears, and extends downward past the opening into the larynx to the lower border of the cricoid cartilage where it is continuous with the esophagus — see laryngopharynx, nasopharynx, oropharynx