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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

In Gila, the snout does not project beyond the mouth, which is oblique, lacks a frenum, and is larger than in Rhinichthys.

From Five Natural Hybrid Combinations in Minnows (Cyprinidae) by Cross, Frank B.

Aetius, the first prominent Christian physician of whom we have any record, divided the frenum of the tongue.

From Psychotherapy by Walsh, James J. (James Joseph)

It usually lies on one side of the frenum, and over it the mucous membrane moves freely.

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

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

From Time Magazine Archive

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 Darwin, Charles

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 Akrigg, Mark Bear

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 Darwin, Charles

The Balanidae or sessile cirripedes, on the other hand, have no ovigerous frena, the eggs lying loose at the bottom of the sack, in the well-enclosed shell; but they have large folded branchiae.

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

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