How to Pronounce Coccyx

The word coccyx is pronounced "KOK-siks." The first syllable rhymes with "rock," and the second syllable sounds like "siks." The stress falls on the first syllable, so you say it a bit louder and longer than the second part.

Many people accidentally stress the second syllable and say "kok-SIKS," but that's incorrect. The correct stress is on the first syllable: "KOK-siks." Another common mistake is pronouncing it like "cox-ix" instead of "kok-siks"—remember the hard "k" sound at the start.

Coccyx is divided into two syllables: "coc-cyx." When you say it, you pause slightly between these two parts, with the main emphasis on the first syllable.

Coccyx is the medical term for your tailbone—the small, triangular bone at the very bottom of your spine. You might hear it called simply "the tailbone" in everyday conversation, but in medical or anatomical contexts, doctors and anatomy teachers use the word coccyx.

The word coccyx comes from ancient Greek and means "cuckoo bird." This might seem odd, but ancient Greek physicians named it that because the bone's shape resembles a cuckoo bird's beak when viewed from the side. The word entered English through medical Latin.

The medical term "coccygeal" (pronounced "kok-SIJ-ee-ul") is directly related—it's an adjective meaning "related to the coccyx." You might hear it in phrases like "coccygeal nerves" or "coccygeal muscles" when discussing anatomy near the tailbone.

Here's an example: "The coccyx is the lowest bone in the vertebral column and is made up of fused vertebrae." Another example: "In anatomy class, we learned that the coccyx serves as an attachment point for several muscles."

There is no common abbreviation for coccyx in medical writing. The full word is almost always used, though you might see it shortened informally to "tailbone" in everyday conversation.