Dictionary

philtrum en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈfɪl.tɹəm/
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Borrowed from the Latin philtrum (“a love potion”), from Ancient Greek φῐ́λτρον (phĭ́ltron, “a love charm; the dimple in the upper lip”). Doublet of philter.

Meanings

1. The shallow vertical groove running from the nasal septum to the center of the upper lip.
   • Upper lip reconstruction is more difficult than lower lip reconstruction because the upper lip has a central structure, the philtrum.[…]Wounds adjacent to the philtrum that are closed primarily may shift the philtrum to the affected side. However, with time, the philtrum will tend to return to its midline position. 2007, Loren J. Borud, Arin K. Greene, “Chapter 24: Lip Reconstruction”, in Josef E. Fischer, Kirby I. Bland, Mark P. Callery, editors, Mastery of Surgery, 5th edition, volume 1, page 301, column 3:
   • Oral intercommissural distance (mouth width) and philtrum length are useful measurements for diagnosis of wide or large mouth (macrostomia), small mouth (microstomia), long philtrum and short philtrum and form ‘good handles’ in syndromic delineation. 2005, M. L. Kulkarni, Physical Examination of Children (Clinical Methods in Paediatrics; 2B), India: Jaypee Brothers, archived from the original on 31 Oct 2020, page 142:
   • If the philtrum is long and deep, then these people are very romantic, sexual, lively and friendly. 2011, Hrishikesh Dubey, Mysteries of Vedic Face Reading, Categorization of the Philtrum According to Its Length:
2. The junction between the two halves of an animal's upper lip or nose.

Forms

Deriveds

jestrum · midphiltrum

Relateds

Cupid's bow

Synonyms

infranasal depression

Translations (34)

fa بوسهگاه (shallow vertical groove) · de Philtrum (shallow vertical groove) · no philtrum (shallow vertical groove) · ko 인중 (shallow vertical groove) · ru подносово́й желобо́к (shallow vertical groove) · da philtrum (shallow vertical groove) · el φίλτρο (shallow vertical groove) · grc φίλτρον (shallow vertical groove) · mn хүн (shallow vertical groove) · is efrivararrenna (shallow vertical groove) · is vinulág (shallow vertical groove) · ja 人中穴 (shallow vertical groove) · pt sulco nasolabial (shallow vertical groove) · fa نثرت (shallow vertical groove) · cs laskavník (shallow vertical groove) · ja 人中 (shallow vertical groove) · fr sillon naso-labial (shallow vertical groove) · pt filtro labial (shallow vertical groove) · it filtro (shallow vertical groove) · fa جویک لب (shallow vertical groove) · ca filtre (shallow vertical groove) · ar نَثْرَة (shallow vertical groove) · ga filtream (shallow vertical groove) · is miðsnesisgróf (shallow vertical groove) · de Oberlippenrinne (shallow vertical groove) · cs filtrum (shallow vertical groove) · fr philtrum (shallow vertical groove) · es surco nasolabial (shallow vertical groove) · fi filtrum (shallow vertical groove) · cmn 人中 (shallow vertical groove) · ru губно́й желобо́к (shallow vertical groove) · ru фильтр (shallow vertical groove) · pl rynienka podnosowa (shallow vertical groove) · vi nhân trung (shallow vertical groove)