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definitions

carpus

[kahr-puh s]
noun, plural car·pi [kahr-pahy] /ˈkɑr paɪ/. Anatomy.
  1. the part of the upper extremity between the hand and the forearm; wrist.
  2. the wrist bones collectively; the group of bones between the bones of the hand and the radius.

Origin of carpus

1670–80; < New Latin < Greek karpós wrist
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for carpus

Historical Examples of carpus

  • Between the two rows there is a centrale as in the carpus, or there may be two.

    The Vertebrate Skeleton

    Sidney H. Reynolds

  • The carpus consists of six small bones arranged in two rows.

    The Vertebrate Skeleton

    Sidney H. Reynolds

  • This, like the carpus, is much reduced and modified from the primitive condition.

    The Vertebrate Skeleton

    Sidney H. Reynolds

  • Many reptiles have a carpus only slightly different from this.

    The Vertebrate Skeleton

    Sidney H. Reynolds

  • In Echidna the carpus is broad, the scaphoid and lunar are united and there is no centrale.

    The Vertebrate Skeleton

    Sidney H. Reynolds

British Dictionary definitions for carpus

carpus

noun plural -pi (-paɪ)
  1. the technical name for wrist
  2. the eight small bones of the human wrist that form the joint between the arm and the hand
  3. the corresponding joint in other tetrapod vertebrates

Word Origin for carpus

C17: New Latin, from Greek karpos
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
Word Origin and History for carpus
n.

1670s, from Modern Latin carpus, from Greek karpos "wrist," from PIE *kwerp- "to turn, revolve" (see wharf).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
carpus in Medicine

carpus

[kär′pəs]
n. pl. car•pi (-pī′)
  1. The group of eight carpal bones and associated soft parts forming the joint between the forearm and the hand, articulating with the radius and indirectly with the ulna, and with the five metacarpal bones.wrist
  2. The carpal bones considered as a group.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
carpus in Science

carpus

[kär′pəs]
Plural carpi (kär′pī′)
  1. The group of eight bones lying between the forearm and the metacarpals and forming the wrist in humans.
  2. The group of bones making up the joint corresponding to the wrist in some vertebrates, such as dinosaurs.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.