carpus

[ kahr-puhs ]

/ ˈkɑr pəs /

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noun, plural car·pi

[kahr-pahy]. /ˈkɑr paɪ/. Anatomy.

the part of the upper extremity between the hand and the forearm; wrist.

the wrist bones collectively; the group of bones between the bones of the hand and the radius.

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Origin of carpus

1670–80; <New Latin <Greek karpós wrist

Words nearby carpus

carport, carpospore, carpostome, -carpous, carpsucker, carpus, Carr, Carracci, carrack, carrageen, carrageenan

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use carpus in a sentence

In Chelonians, the turtle and tortoise group, the characters of the carpus vary with the family.
Dragons of the Air|H. G. Seeley
The lower surface shows that the wing had some rotary movement upon the carpus outward and backward.
Dragons of the Air|H. G. Seeley
It is there that we find the little group of bones which forms the carpus.
Notes on Collecting and Preserving Natural-History Objects|J. E. Taylor
The carpus and tarsus of Amphibamus are as yet undecipherable.
The Ancestry of Modern Amphibia: A Review of the Evidence|Theodore H. Eaton

The other blends with the posterior annular ligament of the carpus.
Lameness of the Horse|John Victor Lacroix

British Dictionary definitions for carpus

carpus

/ (ˈkɑːpəs) /

noun plural -pi (-paɪ)

the technical name for wrist

the eight small bones of the human wrist that form the joint between the arm and the hand

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

Scientific definitions for carpus

carpus

[ kär′pəs ]

Plural carpi (kär′pī′)

The group of eight bones lying between the forearm and the metacarpals and forming the wrist in humans.

The group of bones making up the joint corresponding to the wrist in some vertebrates, such as dinosaurs.