clavicle

[ klav-i-kuh l ]

/ ˈklæv ɪ kəl /

noun Anatomy, Zoology.

a bone of the pectoral arch.

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

Nearby words

clave, claver, claves, clavicembalo, clavichord, clavicle, clavicorn, clavicotomy, clavicular, claviculate, clavicytherium

Origin of clavicle

1605–15; < Medieval Latin clāvicula collarbone, Latin: tendril, door-bolt, little key, equivalent to clāvi(s) key + -cula -cule¹

Related formscla·vic·u·lar

[kluh-vik-yuh-ler] /kləˈvɪk yə lər/, adjectivecla·vic·u·late

[kluh-vik-yuh-leyt] /kləˈvɪk yəˌleɪt/, adjectivesub·cla·vic·u·lar, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for clavicular

Hence the clavicular arch may be lost, though the collar bones are retained in man.
Dragons of the Air|H. G. Seeley
Thus the clavicular arch is placed in front of the scapular arch.
Dragons of the Air|H. G. Seeley
The clavicular and abdominal air cells are perhaps the most interesting.
Dragons of the Air|H. G. Seeley
The sterno-cleido mastoid, whose inferior attachments we mentioned above, cannot have a clavicular portion.
Artistic Anatomy of Animals|douard Cuyer

The clavicular portion of the pectoralis major must then be divided right across its fibres, which will retract.
A Manual of the Operations of Surgery|Joseph Bell

British Dictionary definitions for clavicular

clavicle

/ (ˈklævɪkəl) /

noun

either of the two bones connecting the shoulder blades with the upper part of the breastboneNontechnical name: collarbone

the corresponding structure in other vertebrates

Derived Formsclavicular (kləˈvɪkjʊlə), adjectiveclaviculate (kləˈvɪkjʊˌleɪt), adjective

Word Origin for clavicle

C17: from Medieval Latin clāvicula, from Latin clāvis key

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 clavicular

clavicle

"collarbone," 1610s, from Middle French clavicule "collarbone" (16c.), also "small key," from Medieval Latin clavicula "collarbone" (used c.980 in a translation of Avicenna), special use of classical Latin clavicula, literally "small key, bolt," diminutive of clavis "key" (see slot (n.2)); in the anatomical sense a loan-translation of Greek kleis "key, collarbone." So called supposedly from its function as the "fastener" of the shoulder. Related: Clavicular.

Medicine definitions for clavicular

clavicle

[ klăv′ĭ-kəl ]

n.

Either of two slender bones that extend from the manubrium of the sternum to the acromion of the scapula.collarbone

Related formscla•vic′u•lar (klə-vĭk′yə-lər) adj.cla•vic′u•late′ (-lāt′) adj.

Science definitions for clavicular

clavicle

[ klăv′ĭ-kəl ]

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