vestigial

English

Etymology

From vestige +‎ -ial.

Pronunciation

• enPR: vĕ-stĭjʹĭ-əl, vĕ-stĭjʹəl, IPA^(key): /vɛˈstɪd͡ʒɪəl/, /vɛˈstɪd͡ʒəl/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Adjective

vestigial (not comparable)

1. Of or pertaining to a vestige or remnant; like a trace from the past.
2. Not fully developed in mature animals.
3. (evolutionary theory) Of a vestigial structure; that has lost all or most of its original function in the course of evolution.
   • 2004, Pooja, “Flower” (chapter 1), in Pshysiology of the Angiosperms, New Delhi: Discovery Publishing House, →ISBN, Vestigial Vascular Tissue, page 48:

     Remnants of the vascular supply of lost organs may be present in the tissues of the receptacle when all external evidence of the organs has disappeared. Only rarely does the vascular supply of a vestigial organ disappear while external remnants are still present.

Derived terms

• vestigial structure

Related terms

• vestige

Translations

pertaining to a vestige

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 退化殘餘／退化残余 (tuìhuà cányú)

• Dutch: overblijvend (nl)
• French: vestigial (fr)
• German: rudimentär (de), spurenhaft
• Hindi: अवशेषी (avśeṣī)
• Hungarian: maradvány- (hu) or -maradvány (hu) (in compounds), maradványszerű
• Polish: śladowy, szczątkowy (pl)
• Portuguese: vestigial (pt)
• Romanian: vestigial m

not fully developed

• Catalan: vestigial
• Danish: rudimentær (da)
• Dutch: onderontwikkeld (nl)
• Hungarian: csökevényes (hu)
• Italian: vestigiale
• Portuguese: vestigial (pt)

evolutionary theory: vestigial structure

• Portuguese: vestigial (pt)

Noun

vestigial (plural vestigials)

1. (evolutionary theory) A small, degenerate, or imperfectly developed part or organ which has been more fully developed in some past generation.

Anagrams

• vigilates

French

Adjective

vestigial (feminine vestigiale, masculine plural vestigiaux, feminine plural vestigiales)

1. vestigial

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ves.t͡ʃi.ʒiˈaw/ [ves.t͡ʃi.ʒɪˈaʊ̯], (faster pronunciation) /ves.t͡ʃiˈʒjaw/ [ves.t͡ʃiˈʒjaʊ̯]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ves.t͡ʃi.ʒiˈaw/ [ves.t͡ʃi.ʒɪˈaʊ̯], (faster pronunciation) /ves.t͡ʃiˈʒjaw/ [ves.t͡ʃiˈʒjaʊ̯]
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /veʃ.t͡ʃi.ʒiˈaw/ [veʃ.t͡ʃi.ʒɪˈaʊ̯], (faster pronunciation) /veʃ.t͡ʃiˈʒjaw/ [veʃ.t͡ʃiˈʒjaʊ̯]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /vɨʃ.tiˈʒjal/ [vɨʃ.tiˈʒjaɫ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /vɨʃ.tiˈʒjal/ [vɨʃ.tiˈʒjaɫ]
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /bɨʃ.tiˈʒjal/ [bɨʃ.tiˈʒjaɫ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /vɨʃ.tiˈʒja.li/

• Rhymes: -al, -aw
• Hyphenation: ves‧ti‧gi‧al

Adjective

vestigial m or f (plural vestigiais)

1. vestigial

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bestiˈxjal/ [bes.t̪iˈxjal]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: ves‧ti‧gial

Adjective

vestigial m or f (masculine and feminine plural vestigiales)

1. vestigial

Further reading

• “vestigial”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10