carpus

[kahr-puh s]

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.

Origin of carpus

1670–80; < New Latin < Greek karpós wrist

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for carpus

Historical Examples of carpus

This, like the carpus, is much reduced and modified from the primitive condition.
The Vertebrate Skeleton
Sidney H. Reynolds
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
Many reptiles have a carpus only slightly different from this.
The Vertebrate Skeleton
Sidney H. Reynolds
The carpus has no centrale and the lunar is generally small or absent.
The Vertebrate Skeleton
Sidney H. Reynolds

British Dictionary definitions for carpus

carpus

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

Word Origin and History for carpus

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

carpus in Medicine

carpus

[kär′pəs]

n. pl. car•pi (-pī′)

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

The carpal bones considered as a group.

carpus in Science

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.