extensor

[ik-sten-ser, -sawr]

noun Anatomy.

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

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. 2018

Examples from the Web for extensor

Historical Examples of extensor

They can be extended only by activity of the extensor muscles.
How to Add Ten Years to your Life and to Double Its Satisfactions
S. S. Curry
Extensor: that which extends or straightens out; applied to muscles.
Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology
John. B. Smith
The extensor tendons and the tendo Achillis are tense and prominent.
Surgery, with Special Reference to Podiatry
Maximilian Stern
Diminution of the knee-jerks was noticed, with what seemed to be an extensor response.
Tics and Their Treatment
Henry Meigne
Velpeau advised division of the extensor muscles of the tongue.
Psychotherapy
James J. Walsh

British Dictionary definitions for extensor

extensor

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

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

extensor in Medicine