olecranon
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of olecranon
1720–30; < New Latin < Greek ōlékrānon point of the elbow, short for ōlenókrānon, equivalent to ōlén ( ē ) elbow + -o- -o- + krān ( íon ) head ( see cranium) + -on neuter noun suffix
Explanation
The olecranon is the pointy part of your elbow. It’s on the end of the ulna. If you stuck your elbow in clay, the olecranon would leave the biggest dent. The olecranon — or olecranon process — is the part of your elbow that pokes out. The root of this word, the cranon (like cranium) comes from the Greek word for “skull or head” and indeed it’s like the head of your elbow. When you extend your arm, the olecranon can’t be seen. When you bend your arm, there the olecranon is again, ready to elbow someone out of the way.
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.
Floyd suffered the unusual injury — to the olecranon, the bony tip of the ulna that sticks out at the curve of the elbow — while pitching against Washington on Thursday.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 20, 2014
The posterior and superior portions of the proximal ulna make up the olecranon process, which forms the bony tip of the elbow.
From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013
Examples include the prepatellar bursa located over the kneecap and the olecranon bursa at the tip of the elbow.
From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013
Similarly, the posterior humerus has the olecranon fossa, a larger depression that receives the olecranon process of the ulna when the forearm is fully extended.
From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013
This is frequently the case in fractures of the patella, the olecranon, and the narrow part of the neck of the femur.
From Manual of Surgery Volume Second: Extremities—Head—Neck. Sixth Edition. by Miles, Alexander
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.
