forficate

American

[fawr-fi-kit, -keyt] / ˈfɔr fɪ kɪt, -ˌkeɪt /

adjective

deeply forked, as the tail of a bird.

forficate British

/ ˈfɔːfɪkɪt, -ˌkeɪt /

adjective

(esp of the tails of certain birds) deeply forked

"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

Etymology

Origin of forficate

1810–20; < Latin forfic- (stem of forfex ) pair of shears ( cf. forceps) + -ate ¹

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023