furcula

American  

[fur-kyuh-luh] / ˈfɜr kyə lə /

noun

plural

furculae

1. the forked clavicular bone of a bird; wishbone.

2. the ventral, forked appendage on the abdomen of a springtail that the insect uses in springing itself into the air.

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furcula British  

/ ˈfɜːkjʊlə, ˈfɜːkjʊləm /

noun

1. any forklike part or organ, esp the fused clavicles (wishbone) of birds

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Other Word Forms

• furcular adjective

Etymology

Origin of furcula

1855–60; < Latin: a forked prop. See fork, -ule

Example Sentences

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

He was the paleontologist who discovered the furcula of a Tyrannosaurus rex.

From Newsweek

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.

The size and shape of the perforations in the sternum, and the size and divergence of the arms of the furcula, differ.

From The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication, Vol. I. by Darwin, Charles