frenum
Americannoun
noun
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.
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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
On each side of the frenum, under the mucous membrane of the tip, are mucous glands—apical glands—in which cysts sometimes form.
From Manual of Surgery Volume Second: Extremities—Head—Neck. Sixth Edition. by Miles, Alexander
It is of slow growth, and forms an elongated swelling on each side of the frenum, covering the teeth, and projecting the lip.
From Manual of Surgery Volume Second: Extremities—Head—Neck. Sixth Edition. by Miles, Alexander
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)
The only food on hand for injured survivors was yogurt and sweet biscuits known locally as frena.
From Time Magazine Archive
Alternatively, the word could be equivalent to noua 'new, unfamiliar', as at Fast III 455 'iamque indignanti noua frena receperat ore'.
From The Last Poems of Ovid by Akrigg, Mark Bear
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
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
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 Darwin, Charles
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
