- plural of furculum.
furcula
Americannoun
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the forked clavicular bone of a bird; wishbone.
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the ventral, forked appendage on the abdomen of a springtail that the insect uses in springing itself into the air.
noun
Other Word Forms
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Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of furcula
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.
The furcula is flexible enough to bend and provide support to the shoulder girdle during flapping.
From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015
“The clavicle part is real. In birds, the fused clavicles form the furcula, or wishbone. And nowadays—in 2014—we know that dinosaurs had wishbones, too.”
From Newsweek
In a barb, which in all its measurements was a little larger than the same rock-pigeon, the furcula was a quarter of an inch shorter.
From The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication, Vol. I. by Darwin, Charles
The extremities of the furcula, where articulated to the coracoids, vary considerably in outline.
From The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication, Vol. I. by Darwin, Charles
Furca: a fork: the anal appendage used for leaping in Thysanura; see furcula: the forked ental processes of the sternum.
From Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology by Smith, John. B.
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.
