clavicle

[ klav-i-kuhl ]

noun

, Anatomy, Zoology.

1. a bone of the pectoral arch.
2. (in humans) either of two slender bones, each articulating with the sternum and a scapula and forming the anterior part of a shoulder; collarbone.

clavicle

/ kləˈvɪkjʊˌleɪt; ˈklævɪkəl; kləˈvɪkjʊlə /

noun

1. either of the two bones connecting the shoulder blades with the upper part of the breastbone Nontechnical namecollarbone
2. the corresponding structure in other vertebrates

clavicle

/ klăv′ĭ-kəl /

1. Either of two slender bones that extend from the upper part of the sternum (breastbone) to the shoulder.
2. Also called collarbone

Derived Forms

• clavicular, adjective
• claviculate, adjective

Other Words From

• cla·vic·u·lar [kl, uh, -, vik, -y, uh, -ler], adjective
• cla·vic·u·late [kl, uh, -, vik, -y, uh, -leyt], adjective
• subcla·vicu·lar adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of clavicle¹

1605–15; < Medieval Latin clāvicula collarbone, Latin: tendril, door-bolt, little key, equivalent to clāvi ( s ) key + -cula -cule ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of clavicle¹

C17: from Medieval Latin clāvicula, from Latin clāvis key

Example Sentences

Victor was found by doctors who examined him last week to have suffered past injuries including a broken arm and clavicle.

From The Daily Beast

And the clavicle alone, Berger says, would have electrified the world of paleoanthropology.

From The Daily Beast

The left shoulder, on the contrary, was smaller and sunken in, as if the clavicle had been displaced.

From Project Gutenberg

In the pelvic girdle the ilium corresponds to the scapula, the ischium to the coracoid, the pubis to the clavicle.

From Project Gutenberg

The upper part of the humerus, a part of the clavicle and a part of the scapula had been removed.

From Project Gutenberg

It had severed the clavicle, and improperly knit, drew the left arm slightly forward.

From Project Gutenberg

He had once been a soldier, where the height of the men's clavicle is important in assigning the carrying of burdens.

From Project Gutenberg