ectomorph Anthropometry.
(ˈɛktəʊmɔːf)
[f. ecto- + Gr. µορϕ-ή form.]
A person with the lean body-build in which the physical structures developed from the ectodermal layer of the embryo, i.e. the skin and the nervous system, predominate: one of W. H. Sheldon's three constitutional types (cf. endomorph 2, mesomorph). Hence ˈectomorphic a., ˈectomorphy.
| 1940 W. H. Sheldon Varieties Human Physique i. 5 In proportion to his mass, the ectomorph has the greatest surface area and hence relatively the greatest sensory exposure to the outside world. Ibid., Ectomorphy means relative predominance of linearity and fragility. Ibid. iii. 45 Hair of ectomorphic people is of nearly the same abundance as in the case of endomorphy. 1954 R. Fuller Fantasy & Fugue iv. 75 Now you..unfortunately incline to the cerebrotonic ectomorph—you worry too much, you're too good looking, and you can't abandon yourself happily to booze. 1956 C. P. Snow Homecomings li. 367 His profile confronted hers, each of them firm and beautiful in their ectomorphic lines. 1961 New Scientist 6 Apr. 854/1 The ectomorph is much more of an introvert and more shrewd and calculating. 1962 Listener 24 May 905/2 A sort of parlour game, deciding how many points he scores for endomorphy, mesomorphy, and ectomorphy. 1963 Auden Dyer's Hand 345 The chirpy social endomorph will give a different picture of it from that of the melancholic withdrawn ectomorph. |