forceps

[ fawr-suhps, -seps ]
See synonyms for forceps on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural for·ceps, for·ci·pes [fawr-suh-peez]. /ˈfɔr səˌpiz/.
  1. an instrument, as pincers or tongs, for seizing and holding objects, as in surgical operations.

  2. Anatomy, Zoology. a part or feature resembling a forceps, especially a pair of appendages at the posterior of certain insects.

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Origin of forceps

1
1625–35; <Latin: pair of tongs, pincers, said to be a contraction of *formiceps, equivalent to form(us) warm + -i--i- + -ceps -taker, derivative of capere to take (cf. prince), i.e., that which takes hot things; compare, however, forpex, forfex tongs, shears, from which forceps may have been formed by folk etymology

Other words from forceps

  • for·ceps·like, adjective
  • for·cip·i·al [fawr-sip-ee-uhl], /fɔrˈsɪp i əl/, adjective

Words Nearby forceps

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use forceps in a sentence

  • The obstetric forceps were for so long a time kept secret that they were of small benefit at first to the obstetric art.

  • Valentine, with a hitch of his eyebrows and shoulders, drops the forceps with a clink into the glass of hot water.

    You Never Can Tell | George Bernard Shaw

British Dictionary definitions for forceps

forceps

/ (ˈfɔːsɪps) /


nounplural -ceps or -cipes (-sɪˌpiːz)
    • a surgical instrument in the form of a pair of pincers, used esp in the delivery of babies

    • (as modifier): a forceps baby

  1. any pincer-like instrument

  1. any part or structure of an organism shaped like a forceps

Origin of forceps

1
C17: from Latin, from formus hot + capere to seize

Derived forms of forceps

  • forceps-like, adjective

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