3 syllables: Gom, pho, sis. Stress on pho.
gahm-FOH-sis
/ɡɑmˈfoʊsɪs/
Gomphosis is pronounced gahm-FOH-sis (/ɡɑmˈfoʊsɪs/). It has three syllables (Gom-pho-sis), with the stress on "pho". Gomphosis is a noun referring to a type of joint where a peg fits into a socket, as in teeth embedded in the jaw. It denotes a fibrous, immovable joint, typically formed by a peg-like process. In anatomy, it describes peg-and-socket articulation with minimal or no movement, essential for stability in certain skeletal connections.
nounGomphosis is a noun referring to a type of joint where a peg fits into a socket, as in teeth embedded in the jaw. It denotes a fibrous, immovable joint, typically formed by a peg-like process. In anatomy, it describes peg-and-socket articulation with minimal or no movement, essential for stability in certain skeletal connections.
"The tooth sits in the jaw via gomphosis, anchored by periodontal ligaments."
"In anatomy, gomphosis describes the peg-and-socket joint linking the tooth root to the alveolar socket."
"Dental students study gomphosis to understand tooth stabilization and movement restrictions."
Phonetic pronunciation is /ɡɒmˈfoʊsɪs/ in US English, /ˌɡɒmˈfəʊsɪs/ in UK English, and /ˌɡɒmˈfəːsɪs/ in Australian English. Emphasize the second syllable: gom-PHO-sis. Start with a hard 'G' and the short 'o' in the first syllable, then glide to the long 'o' in the stressed syllable, and finish with a clear 'sɪs'. Visualize a peg plunging into a socket as you say the middle vowel, which helps with the 'fo'/'fəʊ' transition. Audio reference: listen for the sharp, unstressed ‘sis’ ending.
Common errors include saying gom-MO-sis with incorrect stress on the first or third syllables, and mispronouncing the middle vowel as a long 'o' in all dialects. Correct by placing primary stress on the second syllable and using /ɒ/ for the first vowel, then /oʊ/ (US) or /əʊ/ (UK) for the stressed vowel. Avoid a drawn-out final 'sis'—keep it clipped as /sɪs/. Practice with reverse-engineered minimal pairs like /ɡɒmˈfoʊsɪs/ vs /ɡɒmˈfəːsɪs/ to hear the subtle vowel shift.
In US English, the stressed vowel in the second syllable tends to be /ˈfoʊ/ as in 'goat', giving /ɡɒmˈfoʊsɪs/. UK English often uses /ˈfəʊ/ or /ˈfoʊ/ depending on speakers, with a slightly shorter first syllable and a stronger non-rhotic rhythm. Australian tends toward /ˈfəːsɪs/ with a long, pure vowel in the stressed syllable and a softer final /sɪs/. The rhoticity is minimal in UK and AU, while US remains rhotic in general speech. Practice listening to medical diction across dialect videos to calibrate subtleties.
Gomphosis poses several obstacles: a non-intuitive initial 'gom-' cluster with /ɡɒm/, a stressed diphthong in the second syllable /ˈfoʊ/ (US) or /ˈfəʊ/ (UK), and a final -sis sequence that is easy to blur. The syllable boundary also isn’t obvious in fast speech, and many learners misplace the stress or substitute /oʊ/ with /əʊ/ inconsistently. Focus on the two-phoneme nucleus in the stressed syllable and practice the 'peg into socket' mental cue to stabilize the middle vowel.
There is no silent letter in gomphosis, but the 'ph' cluster corresponds to an /f/ sound, not /f/ plus an extra sound. The tricky part is the digraph 'ph' following a hard 'm' and before a vowel, which can prompt learners to segment it awkwardly. Maintain a crisp /f/ sound for the 'ph' and lead into a clear /ɪs/ ending. This helps avoid a muffed or swallowed final syllable.
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Gomphosis comes from the Greek gomphos, meaning 'bolt' or 'peg', and the suffix -osis indicating a condition or process. The root gomph- evokes a peg or nail, reflecting the jaw-teeth peg-and-socket idea. The term entered scientific usage in the 17th-18th centuries as anatomy advanced; early anatomists adopted it to distinguish peg-like tooth anchorage from other joint types. In English, gomphosis survived as a specialized term within dental and skeletal anatomy, maintaining its literal peg-and-socket imagery while expanding to describe any immobile peg-in-socket joint concept in medical literature. The first known uses appear in classical anatomical writings that described the tooth’s periodontal connection, evolving through Latinized forms into modern nomenclature. Over time, gomphosis has remained a precise, technical descriptor for immobilized peg-and-socket joints, especially dental alveolar connections, and is contrasted with more mobile synarthroses and other joint classifications in anatomy texts.
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Words that rhyme with "Gomphosis"
-sis sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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