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proleg

[proh-leg]
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noun
  1. one of the abdominal ambulatory processes of caterpillars and other larvae, as distinct from the true or thoracic legs.
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Origin of proleg

First recorded in 1810–20; pro-1 + leg
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for proleg

Historical Examples

  • These claws, which sometimes amount to nearly a hundred on one proleg, are alternately longer and shorter.

    An Introduction to Entomology: Vol. II (of 4)

    William Kirby

British Dictionary definitions for proleg

proleg

noun
  1. any of the short paired unjointed appendages on each abdominal segment of a caterpillar and any of certain other insect larvae
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Word Origin

C19: from pro- 1 + leg
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012