Buccinator
/ˈbʌk.sɪ.neɪ.tər/noun
A muscle of the cheek that helps compress the cheek and aid chewing and blowing.
Did you know?Buccinator comes from Latin bucinator, meaning “trumpeter,” from bucina, a curved horn used for military and ritual signals—so the cheek muscle was named for the act of blowing.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bheug-
“to bend, curve”
Latin
Latin
bucina
“a curved horn or trumpet”
Latin
Latin
bucinator
“a horn-blower; trumpeter”
Late Latin
Latin
buccinator
“one who blows a horn; the cheek muscle, so named by analogy”
Modern English
English
buccinator
“the cheek muscle used in blowing and chewing”