amplexus
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of amplexus
1925–30; < New Latin, Latin: embrace, equivalent to amplect ( ī ) to embrace ( am-, variant of ambi- ambi- + plectī, deponent of plectere to plait, twine; cf. complex, plexus) + -tus suffix of v. action
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
All the logic and desire that guides a female frog to a specific pond vanishes once she arrives, and a melee ensues as males race to cling to her in a tight embrace called amplexus.
From New York Times • Apr. 28, 2022
Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Bombay Night frogs in Dorsal straddle: a new amplexus mode in frogs.
From The Guardian • Jun. 14, 2016
Male hyalinobatrachines battle on top of leaves and wrestle, with their fighting poses often resembling amplexus.
From Scientific American • Jan. 25, 2013
Gaudeo tamen vel aspectû solo, et sæpe ilium amplexus ac suspirans dico: O magne vir, &c.
From Poems by Rogers, Samuel
Clasping pairs are usually found at the edge of the water, but sometimes amplexus takes place in trees or bushes.
From Neotropical Hylid Frogs, Genus Smilisca by Duellman, William E.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
