brachiation
[ brey-kee-ey-shuhn, brak-ee- ]
nounZoology.
locomotion accomplished by swinging by the arms from one hold to another.
Origin of brachiation
1Words Nearby brachiation
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Scientific definitions for brachiation
brachiation
[ brā′kē-ā′shən, brăk′ē- ]
Movement in which the suspended body swings by the arms from one hold to another, as in gibbons and arboreal primates. Adaptations used in brachiation, such as relatively long arms and a freely rotating shoulder joint, may have contributed to the development of bipedalism in protohumans.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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