What word describing a highly cultured person is named for a part of the head?

The word describing a highly cultured person that is named for a part of the head is "highbrow."

The term "highbrow," used to describe individuals of superior intellect and refined taste, directly references the brow, or forehead. This connection originated from the 19th-century pseudoscience of phrenology. This now-discredited practice involved studying the shape of the human skull, with proponents mistakenly believing that a high forehead indicated greater intelligence and intellectual capacity.

Although phrenology was debunked, its influence on language endured. The word "highbrow" was first recorded in 1875 or 1884, with its antonym, "lowbrow," emerging around the same time to describe someone considered less intellectual or cultured. American journalist Will Irwin played a significant role in popularizing both terms in 1902. While initially perhaps seen as a compliment, "highbrow" sometimes acquired a more neutral or even slightly pejorative sense over time, occasionally implying a certain aloofness or pretentiousness.

Beyond describing people, "highbrow" and its counterparts, "lowbrow" and "middlebrow" (the latter coined in the mid-1940s), also became categories for distinguishing different levels of cultural sophistication in arts and entertainment. This linguistic legacy serves as a reminder of how past beliefs, even those based on flawed science, can shape our vocabulary. It is also important to acknowledge that the origins of these terms are connected to problematic 19th-century hierarchical racial theories that utilized skull measurements to suggest racial distinctions.