Definition of GIBBOUS

gibbous

Adjective Satellite

  • characteristic of or suffering from kyphosis, an abnormality of the vertebral column
  • (used of the moon) more than half full

Adj

  • Curved or bulged outward.
  • Having more than half (but not the whole) of its disc illuminated.
  • Humpbacked.

Adjective

  • Convex or protuberant; typically referring to a phase of the moon.

Examples

  • The cluster of tiles on the Words With Friends board created a GIBBOUS shape, ripe for a long word.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English gibbous, from Latin gibbus (“humped, hunched”), probably cognate with cubō (“bend oneself, lie down”), Italian gobba (“humpback”), Ancient Greek κῡφός (kūphós, “humpback, bent”), κύβος (kúbos, “cube, vertebra”), Spanish giboso (“humped”). Also ultimately compare dialectal Norwegian keiv (“slanted, wrong”), German schief (“crooked, slanting”) and Dutch scheef (“crooked, slanting”).

Scrabble Score: 12

gibbous: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
gibbous: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
gibbous: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 16

gibbous: valid Words With Friends Word