1933: amygdaloid and amygdala Mar 31, 2020

People who aren't right in the head are nutty, but that isn't why the amygdala [part of the brain] is named after almonds. The term 'amygdala' comes directly from the Greek ἀμυγδαλή (amygdalē), meaning both 'almond' but also 'tonsil', in reference to the shape. Indeed, the term in English 'amygdaloid' meaning 'almond-like' can be used to describe something with a shape somewhere on the spectrum between triangular and elliptic.

Support Word Facts on patreon.com/wordfacts