forelimb

[ fawr-lim, fohr- ]

/ ˈfɔrˌlɪm, ˈfoʊr- /

noun

a front limb of an animal.

Nearby words

forel's decussation, forelady, foreland, foreland basin, foreleg, forelimb, forelock, foreman, foremast, forementioned, foremilk

Origin of forelimb

First recorded in 1785–95; fore- + limb¹

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

Examples from the Web for forelimb

The differences in the sternum and proportions of the forelimb reflect the more rapid flight of the hoary bat.
North American Yellow Bats, 'Dasypterus,' And a List of the Named Kinds Of the Genus Lasiurus Gray|E. Raymond Hall
Richardson, looking down, saw the long, fine reach of forelimb as steady as steel machinery.
The Open Boat and Other Stories|Stephen Crane
The forelimb is transitional between the pectoral fin of Rhipidistia and the limb of early Amphibia.
A New Order of Fishlike Amphibia From the Pennsylvanian of Kansas|Theodore H. Eaton

British Dictionary definitions for forelimb

forelimb

/ (ˈfɔːˌlɪm) /

noun

either of the front or anterior limbs of a four-limbed vertebrate: a foreleg, flipper, or wing

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