extensor

[ ik-sten-ser, -sawr ]

/ ɪkˈstɛn sər, -sɔr /

noun Anatomy.

a muscle that serves to extend or straighten a part of the body.

Nearby words

extensionality, extensity, extensive, extensively, extensometer, extensor, extensor muscle of fingers, extensor muscle of index finger, extensor muscle of little finger, extensor retinaculum, extent

Origin of extensor

1700–10; < New Latin, equivalent to Latin extend(ere) to extend + -tor -tor, with -dt- > -s-

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

Examples from the Web for extensor

The flexor and extensor tendons and the sesamoid bones are displaced laterally.
Manual of Surgery Volume Second: Extremities--Head--Neck. Sixth Edition.|Alexander Miles
On the outer side of the wrist we can distinctly see and feel when in action, the three extensor tendons of the thumbs.
A Practical Physiology|Albert F. Blaisdell
Diminution of the knee-jerks was noticed, with what seemed to be an extensor response.
Tics and Their Treatment|Henry Meigne
The extensor tendons and the tendo Achillis are tense and prominent.
Surgery, with Special Reference to Podiatry|Maximilian Stern

There is a patella, intercalated in the tendon of the femori-tibialis or extensor cruris muscle.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Slice 7|Various

British Dictionary definitions for extensor

extensor

/ (ɪkˈstɛnsə, -sɔː) /

noun

any muscle that stretches or extends an arm, leg, or other bodily partCompare flexor

Word Origin for extensor

C18: from New Latin, from Latin extensus stretched out

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 extensor

extensor

1713, short for medical Latin musculus extensor, from Late Latin extensor "stretcher," agent noun from Latin extensus (see extend).

Medicine definitions for extensor

extensor

[ ĭk-stĕn′sər ]

n.

A muscle that extends or straightens a limb or body part.

Science definitions for extensor

extensor

[ ĭk-stĕn′sər ]

A muscle that extends or straightens a limb or joint. Compare flexor.