jug·u·lar

[juhg-yuh-ler, joo-gyuh-]
adjective
1.
Anatomy.
a.
of or pertaining to the throat or neck.
b.
noting or pertaining to any of certain large veins of the neck, especially one (external jugular vein) collecting blood from the superficial parts of the head or one (internal jugular vein) collecting blood from within the skull.
2.
(of a fish) having the pelvic fins at the throat, before the pectoral fins.
noun
3.
Anatomy. a jugular vein.
4.
go for the jugular, to attack a vital and vulnerable trait, feature, element, etc., in an attempt to overcome somebody or something swiftly and totally: The defense attorney went right for the jugular by attempting to destroy the witness's credibility.

Origin:
1590–1600; < Late Latin jugulāris, equivalent to Latin jugul(um) throat (see jugulate) + -āris -ar1

in·ter·jug·u·lar, adjective
post·jug·u·lar, adjective
sub·jug·u·lar, adjective

juggler, jugular.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
jugular (ˈdʒʌɡjʊlə) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
1.  of, relating to, or situated near the throat or neck
2.  of, having, or denoting pelvic fins situated in front of the pectoral fins: a jugular fish
 
n
3.  short for jugular vein
4.  go for the jugular to make a savage and destructive attack on an enemy's weakest point
 
[C16: from Late Latin jugulāris, from Latin jugulum throat]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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00:10
Jugular is always a great word to know.
So is tongue. Does it mean:
the movable organ in the floor of the mouth functioning in eating, tasting, and in speaking
the colored portion of the eye that contains a circular opening, the pupil, in its center
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

jugular
1597, from Mod.L. jugularis, from L. jugulum "collarbone, throat, neck," dim. of jugum "yoke," related to iungere "to join," from PIE *yeug- "to join" (cf. Skt. yugam "yoke," yunjati "binds, harnesses," yogah "union;" Hittite yugan "yoke;" Gk. zygon "yoke," zeugnyanai "to join, unite;" O.C.S. igo, O.Welsh
iou "yoke;" Lith. jungas "yoke," jungiu "fastened in a yoke;" O.E. geoc "yoke;" probably also L. iuxta "close by").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

jugular jug·u·lar (jŭg'yə-lər)
adj.
Of, relating to, or located in the region of the neck or throat. n.
A jugular vein.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

jugular

see go for, def. 4.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Example sentences
Instead they plunged a kind of stiletto into each throat, severing the jugular
  vein.
She goes for the jugular immediately and reaches positions that are so
  complicated they give me a headache to look at.
They are reaching for the jugular in a political power play.
He had an inability to find the jugular in a entertainment figure.
Idioms & Phrases
Image for jugular
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