Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Of, relating to, or being in the area of the eyebrow.
  • adjective Located over the eyebrow or the eye.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Situated over the eyelid—that is, over or above the eye, as the eyebrow; superorbital: as, the superciliary ridges.
  • Of or pertaining to the supercilia or eyebrows; contained in or connected with the superciliary region; superorbital. See cut under Coluber.
  • Marked by the supercilia; having a conspicuous streak over the eye: as, a superciliary bird. Also supraciliary.
  • The superorbital prominence of various animals, formed by the projection of the upper edge of the orbit itself, or of a separate superorbital ossicle.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Of or pertaining to the eyebrows; supraorbital.
  • adjective (Zoöl.) Having a distinct streak of color above the eyes.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective anatomy Of or pertaining to the supercilium or eyebrow.
  • noun zoology A distinct streak of colour above the eyes, as in some birds.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[New Latin superciliāris, from Latin supercilium, eyebrow; see supercilious.]

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Examples

  • These three surfaces are separated from each other by the following borders: (a) supero-medial, between the lateral and medial surfaces; (b) infero-lateral, between the lateral and inferior surfaces; the anterior part of this border separating the lateral from the orbital surface, is known as the superciliary border; (c) medial occipital, separating the medial and tentorial surfaces; and (d) medial orbital, separating the orbital from the medial surface.

    IX. Neurology. 4c. The Fore-brain or Prosencephalon 1918

  • A most remarkable peculiarity is at once obvious in the extraordinary development of the frontal sinuses, owing to which the superciliary ridges, which coalesce completely in the middle, are rendered so prominent, that the frontal bone exhibits a considerable hollow or depression above, or rather behind them, whilst a deep depression is also formed in the situation of the root of the nose.

    Essays 2007

  • On the right superciliary ridge is observable an oblique furrow or depression, indicative of an injury received during life. 56 56

    Essays 2007

  • Eyes which at the least opposition would glow like coals of fire; and above them a permanent contraction of the superciliary muscle, an invariable sign of extreme energy.

    Robur the Conqueror 2003

  • In the discussion of bodily mutilations reference will be made to such permanent adornment as tattooing, perforation and elongation of the ear lobes, superciliary and axillary depilation, grinding of the teeth, and the blackening of the teeth and lips -- all of which, with the exception of the elongation of the ear lobes, are common to both men and women.

    The Manóbos of Mindanáo Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume XXIII, First Memoir John M. Garvan

  • The forehead is somewhat high and prominent, and the superciliary ridges are salient.

    The Manóbos of Mindanáo Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume XXIII, First Memoir John M. Garvan

  • The superciliary lines have blackish rather than brownish streaks, and the scapulars do not have four or five dark bars

    Birds from Coahuila, Mexico Emil K. Urban

  • The superciliary ridges are prominent, but as the hair of the eyebrows is constantly kept shaved, there is not such an impression of prominence as in the Christianized Mandáyas of the southeastern seaboard of

    The Manóbos of Mindanáo Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume XXIII, First Memoir John M. Garvan

  • Our four specimens have a superciliary line that is indistinct and the black mask of each extends somewhat posterior to the auricular region.

    Birds from Coahuila, Mexico Emil K. Urban

  • The front division is then combed forward over the forehead where it is banged square from ear to ear in the plane of and parallel to the superciliary ridges.

    The Manóbos of Mindanáo Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume XXIII, First Memoir John M. Garvan

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