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

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

From Newsweek

“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

The arms of the furcula in all the specimens which I compared, diverged less, proportionally with the size of body, than in the rock-pigeon; and the whole furcula was proportionally shorter.

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

In a pouter, the furcula had not been lengthened proportionally with the increased length of the body.

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