LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininefirst declension

māxilla

māxilla f (genitive māxillae)
Classical[maːkˈsɪl.la]Ecclesiastical[makˈsil.la]

Meaning

  1. the jaw, jawbone, bone of the upper jaw
  2. the lower part of the face, the jaws
    Maxilla vero est molle os; eaque una est, cuius eadem et media et ima pars mentum est, a quo utrimque procedit ad tempora; solaque ea movetur: nam malae cum toto osse, quod superiores dentes exigit, immobiles sunt.1938 translation by W. G. Spencer But the lower jaw is a soft bone and a single one, of which the chin forms the middle and lowest portion, whence it is continued on the two sides to the temples; and it alone is movable, for the cheek-bones with all that bone which produces the upper teeth are immobile ― published online at LacusCurtius by Bill Thayer as Celsus: On Medicine, Book VIIIc. 25 BCE – c. 50 CE, Aulus Cornelius Celsus, De Medicina 8.1
    Si per haec parum proficitur, ultimum est incidere satis altis plagis sub ipsis maxillis supra collum, vel in palato citra uvam, vel eas venas, quae sub lingua sunt, ut per ea vulnera morbus erumpat.1938 translation by W. G. Spencer If there is little effect from these remedies, the last resource is to make sufficiently deep incisions into the upper part of the neck under the lower jaw, or into the palate in front of the uvula, or into the veins under the tongue, in order that the disease may discharge through the incisions. ― published online at LacusCurtius by Bill Thayer as Celsus: On Medicine, Book IVc. 25 BCE – c. 50 CE, Aulus Cornelius Celsus, De Medicina 4.7

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Mala · Maxilla · Gena

1. Mala (from μέμαχα, or from Mandere) denotes the upper, maxilla, the under jaw. Cels. Med. viii. 1. 2. Mala denotes the cheek as a usual expression, and in a merely physiological sense; gena (from γένυς) as a more ancient and select expression, and with an æsthetic reference. (vi. 208.)

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativemāxillamāxillae
genitivemāxillaemāxillārum
dativemāxillaemāxillīs
accusativemāxillammāxillās
ablativemāxillāmāxillīs
vocativemāxillamāxillae

maxilla, ae, f. dim. of a ground-form magsula (whence māla; root mag of μάσσω, to knead; μαγεύς. baker, etc.; cf. axilla, ala, from ago),
I. the jawbone, jaw (postAug.).
I. Lit.: quam litteram (X) etiam e maxillis et taxillis et vexillo ... consuetudo elegans Latini sermonis evellit, Cic. Or. 45, 153: maxillae superiores, Plin. 11, 37, 60, § 159; Suet. Calig. 58; Veg. Vet. 2, 40, 2: maxillam superiorem commovere solam, Amm. 22, 15, 15: cum in maxillis balanatum gausape pectas, you comb the anointed beard on your jaws, Pers. 4, 37.— *
II. Transf.: miserum populum, qui sub tam lentis maxillis erit, under such slowgrinding teeth, i. e. subject to such protracted cruelty, Aug. ap. Suet. Tib. 21.

Origins

Diminutive of māla (“the cheekbone, jaw”), from its reconstructed Proto-Italic form *smakslā and the diminutive suffix *-elos via the following sequence of regular sound changes: *-kslelā > *-ksl̥lā > *-ksillā. Compare the formation of the following diminutives: āla–āxilla, ōlla–auxilla, paulus–pauxillus, pālus–pāxillus, vēlum–vēxillum. An alternative etymology of māla, supported by Thurneysen and Leumann, reconstructs its original form as *mandslā, from the root of mandō (“to chew”); if this is correct, the -x- in the diminutive must have instead been introduced by analogy to āxilla. Synchronically, māxilla can be viewed as ending in the Latin diminutive suffix -illus.

Elsewhere
  • Catalanmaixella
  • Italianmascella
  • Occitanmaissa
  • Occitanmaissèla
  • Portuguesemaxila
  • Romanianmăsea
  • Sardinianmansidda
  • Sardinianmassidda
  • Sardinianmansidha
  • Spanishmejilla
Middle English
  • Englishmaxilla

In English words that came into English from māxilla

  • maxillamāxilla
  • maxillarymāxillāris
  • zygomaxillaremaxillāris

Quick answers

What does māxilla mean in Latin?
māxilla, a noun, means “the jaw, jawbone, bone of the upper jaw; the lower part of the face, the jaws”.
What is the genitive of māxilla?
The genitive singular is māxillae. māxilla is feminine, first declension.
How do you pronounce māxilla?
In classical Latin, [maːkˈsɪl.la]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [makˈsil.la].
Which English words come from māxilla?
English words that go back to Latin māxilla include maxilla, maxillary and zygomaxillare.