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frenum

American  
[free-nuhm] / ˈfri nəm /

noun

Anatomy, Zoology.
  • frena
    plural
  1. a fold of membrane that checks or restrains the motion of a part, such as the fold on the underside of the tongue.


frenum British  
/ ˈfriːnəm /

noun

  1. a variant spelling (esp US) of fraenum

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


Etymology

Origin of frenum

First recorded in 1655–65; New Latin, from Latin fraenum, frēnum “bridle, restraint,” of disputed origin


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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

I used to curl up my tongue in front of the mirror and tauten my frenum into a white line, itself as thin as a razor blade.

From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston

If my mother was not lying she should have cut more, scraped away the rest of the frenum skin, because I have a terrible time talking.

From "The Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston

Pettit mentions suffocation from "tongue swallowing," both with and without section of the frenum.

From Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine by Walter L. (Walter Lytle) Pyle

Schobinger cites a similar instance, due to loosening of the frenum.

From Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine by Walter L. (Walter Lytle) Pyle

Excessive length of the frenum is occasionally met with, and in children may allow of the tongue falling back into the throat and causing sudden suffocative attacks, one of which may prove fatal.

From Manual of Surgery Volume Second: Extremities—Head—Neck. Sixth Edition. by Alexander Miles

The only food on hand for injured survivors was yogurt and sweet biscuits known locally as frena.

From Time Magazine Archive

These cirripedes have no branchiae, the whole surface of the body and of the sack, together with the small frena, serving for respiration.

From The Origin of Species by means of Natural Selection, 6th Edition by Charles Darwin

The ovigerous frena of certain cirripedes, which have ceased to give attachment to the ova and are feebly developed, are nascent branchiae.

From The Origin of Species by means of Natural Selection, 6th Edition by Charles Darwin

These cirripedes have no branchiae, the whole surface of the body and sack, including the small frena, serving for respiration.

From On the Origin of Species By Means of Natural Selection, or, the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life by Charles Darwin

At Tr V iv 15-16 Ovid had used frena recusare of a horse: 'fert tamen, ut debet, casus patienter amaros, / more nec indomiti frena recusat equi'.

From The Last Poems of Ovid by Mark Bear Akrigg

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