Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

flexor

[flek-ser]
See more synonyms for flexor on Thesaurus.com
noun Anatomy.
  1. a muscle that serves to flex or bend a part of the body.
Show More

Origin of flexor

From New Latin, dating back to 1605–15; see origin at flex1, -tor
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for flexor

Historical Examples

  • It is more marked in the extensor than in the flexor groups of muscles.

    Manual of Surgery

    Alexis Thomson and Alexander Miles

  • Dorsal flexion is checked by the flexor tendons and dorsal ligaments.

    Lameness of the Horse

    John Victor Lacroix

  • The thumb-groove is usually chamfered out very thoroughly so as to fit the flexor muscle conveniently.

  • The first Flexor is nam'd Sublimis, and the other Profundus.

  • In other cases the flexor muscles of the fore limbs are contracted so that the latter are strongly bent at the knee.

    Special Report on Diseases of the Horse

    United States Department of Agriculture

British Dictionary definitions for flexor

flexor

noun
  1. any muscle whose contraction serves to bend a joint or limbCompare extensor
Show More

Word Origin

C17: New Latin; see flex
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 flexor

n.

1610s, Modern Latin, short for musculus flexor "a bending muscle," agent noun from past participle stem of Latin flectere "to bend" (see flexible).

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
flexor in Medicine

flexor

(flĕk′sər)
n.
  1. A muscle that when contracted acts to bend a joint or limb in the body.
Show More
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
flexor in Science

flexor

[flĕk′sər]
  1. A muscle that bends or flexes a joint. Compare extensor.
Show More
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.