diaphragm
pronunciation
How to pronounce diaphragm in British English:
UK [ˈdaɪəfræm]
How to pronounce diaphragm in American English:
US [ˈdaɪəˌfræm]
-
- Noun:
- a mechanical device in a camera that controls size of aperture of the lens
- (anatomy) a muscular partition separating the abdominal and thoracic cavities; functions in respiration
- a contraceptive device consisting of a flexible dome-shaped cup made of rubber or plastic; it is filled with spermicide and fitted over the uterine cervix
- electro-acoustic transducer that vibrates to receive or produce sound waves
Word Origin
- diaphragm
- diaphragm: [17] The etymological notion underlying diaphragm is of a sort of ‘fence’ or ‘partition’ within the body. It comes via late Latin diaphragma from Greek diáphragma. This in turn was a derivative of diaphrássein ‘divide off, barricade’, a compound verb formed from the intensive prefix dia- and phrássein ‘fence in, enclose’. Originally in Greek diáphragma was applied to other bodily partitions than that between the thorax and the abdomen – to the septum which divides the two nostrils, for instance.
- diaphragm (n.)
- late 14c., from Late Latin diaphragma, from Greek diaphragma "partition, barrier, muscle which divides the thorax from the abdomen," from diaphrassein "to barricade," from dia- "across" (see dia-) + phrassein "to fence or hedge in." The native word is midriff. Meaning "contraceptive cap" is from 1933.
Example
- 1. Controlled breathing for two minutes , focusing on your diaphragm , will dampen hunger pangs .
- 2. Take a deep breath in as quickly as you can , to force the diaphragm down .
- 3. A side stitch is a sharp , intense pain under the lower edge of the ribcage caused by a muscle spasm of the diaphragm .
- 4. A silicon membrane is fabricated over a tiny cavity . This allows it to vibrate in sympathy with sound waves , like the diaphragm in a conventional microphone .
- 5. No one knows exactly what triggers the diaphragm to spasm , although it 's probably due to stimulation of the nerves connected to the muscle or to a signal from the part of the brain that controls breathing .