promontory
/ˈprɒm(ə)nt(ə)ri
/noun (plural promontories)
1A point of high land that juts out into the sea or a large lake; a headland: a rocky promontory...
- Both ponds were divided from the lake by a low promontory of land that encircled them.
- If you want to be independent, go to any promontory, headland or peninsula that has deep water close inshore and allows you to stand on a cliff a good height above water level.
- The Inn is built high on a rocky promontory that looks over Chesterman Beach, and the sheer acreage of windows in this cedar-and-glass structure makes it ideal for its winter attraction - storm-watching.
Synonyms
headland, point, cape, head, foreland, horn, spit, hook, bill, ness, naze, peninsula;
bluff, cliff, precipice, prominence, projection, overhang, height, ridge, spur;
Scottish mull
2 Anatomy A protuberance on an organ or other bodily structure.Facial nerve paralysis is caused by compression of the nerve against the sacral promontory or by trauma resulting from the use of forceps during delivery....
- These motions push the posterior shoulder over the sacral promontory, allowing it to fall into the hollow of the sacrum, and rotate the symphysis over the impacted shoulder.
- Less commonly, shoulder dystocia results from impaction of the posterior shoulder on the sacral promontory.
Origin
Mid 16th century: from Latin promontorium, variant (influenced by mons, mont- 'mountain') of promunturium.