Having the characteristics of a dog-head; dog-headed, often used in medieval descriptions of mythical or exotic creatures.
From the same Greek roots as 'cynocephalic': 'kyon' (dog) plus 'kephalos' (head), with the suffix '-ous' (having the quality of). Both forms emerged around the same time in medieval natural philosophy.
Saint Christopher was sometimes depicted as cynocephalous in medieval art—the Catholic Church canonized a supposed dog-headed man, showing how uncertain medieval people were about the world's inhabitants!
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