posterior-medially
|pos-te-ri-or-med-i-al-ly|
🇺🇸
/pɑːˈstɪriər ˈmiːdiəli/
🇬🇧
/pɒˈstɪəriə ˈmiːdiəli/
(posterior-medial)
back toward the midline
Etymology
'posterior-medially' is a modern English compound combining 'posterior' and 'medially'; 'posterior' ultimately derives from Latin 'posterus' meaning 'coming after', and 'medially' derives from Latin 'medius' meaning 'middle'.
'posterior' entered English via Latin 'posterior' (comparative of 'posterus') and Middle English usage; 'medial' comes from Late Latin 'medialis' from 'medius', and the adverbial form 'medially' developed in modern English; the compound 'posterior-medial' and its adverbial form 'posterior-medially' arose in technical/anatomical English by combining these elements.
'posterior' originally carried the sense 'coming after' (in time) in Latin but shifted in anatomical contexts to mean 'situated toward the back'; 'medius' kept the sense 'middle', so the compound now specifically denotes a back-and-midline direction.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adverb 1
in a position or moving in a direction that is both posterior (toward the back) and medial (toward the midline) of the body or an organ.
The tear was located posterior-medially on the meniscus.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2026/01/09 13:04