apulmonic
|a-pul-mo-nic|
🇺🇸
/əpʌlˈmɑnɪk/
🇬🇧
/əpʌlˈmɒnɪk/
without lung / without pulmonic airstream
Etymology
'apulmonic' is formed from the negative prefix 'a-' (from Greek a-, meaning 'not') combined with 'pulmonic' (from Latin 'pulmo, pulmon-' meaning 'lung').
'pulmo' in Latin gave Medieval Latin 'pulmonicus' -> English 'pulmonic'; the prefix 'a-' was later attached in technical usage to form 'apulmonic' meaning 'not pulmonic' or 'without lung air'.
Initially elements meant 'not' + 'lung'; the combined technical term came to mean specifically 'not using lung air (in phonetics)' and by extension 'not relating to the lungs' in medical contexts.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
in phonetics: produced without the use of a pulmonic (lung) airstream; non‑pulmonic (e.g., clicks, ejectives, some implosives).
Apulmonic consonants such as clicks are articulated without a pulmonic airstream.
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Adjective 2
not related to or not involving the lungs; non‑pulmonary (used in medical or anatomical descriptions).
The lesion was apulmonic, confined to the pleura and not involving the lung parenchyma.
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Last updated: 2025/09/29 04:00