femur
[fee-mer]
- Anatomy. a bone in the human leg extending from the pelvis to the knee, that is the longest, largest, and strongest in the body; thighbone.
- Zoology. a corresponding bone of the leg or hind limb of an animal.
- Entomology. the third segment of the leg of an insect (counting from the base), situated between the trochanter and the tibia.
Origin of femur
1555–65; < Latin: thigh
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for femora
Historical Examples
The femora of all the legs are striped lengthwise with brown and yellow.
The Common Spiders of the United StatesJames Henry Emerton
The palpi (fig. 206) have the femora black and the patella white.
The Common Spiders of the United StatesJames Henry Emerton
The legs have dark rings on the ends and middle of the femora and tibiæ.
The Common Spiders of the United StatesJames Henry Emerton
The distance between the heads of the two humeri is practically the same as the distance between the femora.
Taxidermy and Zoological CollectingWilliam T. Hornaday
Guinea-pigs which were thus treated showed no microscopic signs of scurvy in any of the ribs, in the tibi or the femora.
Scurvy Past and PresentAlfred Fabian Hess
femur
- the longest thickest bone of the human skeleton, articulating with the pelvis above and the knee belowNontechnical name: thighbone
- the corresponding bone in other vertebrates
- the segment of an insect's leg nearest to the body
Word Origin
C18: from Latin: thigh
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for femora
femur
n.
1560s, from Latin femur "thigh," of unknown origin; borrowed first as an architectural term, 1799 as "thighbone."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
femur
(fē′mər)
- thigh
- The long bone of the thigh, and the longest and strongest bone in the human body, situated between the pelvis and the knee and articulating with the hipbone and with the tibia and patella.thighbone
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
femur
[fē′mər]
- The long bone of the thigh or of the upper portion of the hind leg. See more at skeleton.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.