brachiation
[brey-kee-ey-shuh n, brak-ee-]
- locomotion accomplished by swinging by the arms from one hold to another.
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Origin of brachiation
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
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.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.