maxillary

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin māxillāris (“of or belonging to the jaw”), from māxilla (“the jawbone, jaw”) + -āris (“-ar, -ary”, adjectival suffix); equivalent to maxilla + -ary.

adj

1. (anatomy) Of or relating to the jaw or jawbone.
2. (zootomy) Of or pertaining to the maxillae of an arthropod.

noun

1. (anatomy) Alternative form of maxilla.
   In the RODENTIA the interorbital space is still larger, by reason of the size of the intermaxillary bones throwing the maxillary backwards and to the sides, where they form the inner orbitar wall, in which the palate bones occupy only a small space. The anterior wall is formed by a process of the maxillary, which contributes to form the zygomatic arch, while the malar is suspended in the middle between the process and that of the temporal bone. 1842, Encyclopaedia Britannica, page 5
   Neoplastic localisations in the maxillaries can be distinguished between primitive tumour lesions with osteomedullary origin (osteoma, osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, myeloma, etc.) and secondary neoplasms of the maxillaries such as the hematogenous metastasis or the tumours which affect the maxillaries for their adjacency, for example, the lesions in the oral cavity and the salivary glands. 2014, Ignazio Pandolfo, Silvio Mazziotti, Orthopantomography, page 148
2. (anatomy) A tooth growing from the upper jawbone.
   A tendon extends from the inner surface of the dentary to the postero-lateral surface of the maxillary near the ball and socket joint. 1928, Edna May Keeler, A Comparative Study of the Muscles Controlling the Maxillary Tentacles of the Siluridae, page 42