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cremaster

[ kri-mas-ter ]

noun

  1. Entomology. a usually hooklike process on the posterior tip of a chrysalis, for attaching the pupa to a stem, twig, etc.
  2. Anatomy. the suspensory muscle of the testis.


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Other Words From

  • crem·as·te·ri·al [krem-, uh, -, steer, -ee-, uh, l], crem·as·ter·ic [krem-, uh, -, ster, -ik], adjective

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Word History and Origins

Origin of cremaster1

1670–80; < Latin < Greek kremastḗr literally, suspender, akin to kremannýnai to hang

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Example Sentences

The pupa is fastened to this pad by a spiny hook or process, the cremaster (fig. 23 cr), on the last abdominal segment.

The tongue-case is long and projects for a considerable distance beyond the somewhat short cremaster.

The cremaster, which is short, is bent upward at an oblique angle with the line of the ventral surface.

Cremaster: a stout spine, process or hooked area at the hind end of pupae in Lepidoptera.

Crotchets: the curved spines or hooks on the prolegs of caterpillars and on the cremaster of pupae.

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