frenum

American  

[free-nuhm] / ˈfri nəm /

noun

Anatomy, Zoology.

frena plural

1. a fold of membrane that checks or restrains the motion of a part, such as the fold on the underside of the tongue.

---

frenum British  

/ ˈfriːnəm /

noun

1. a variant spelling (esp US) of fraenum

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• frena
  plural

Etymology

Origin of frenum

First recorded in 1655–65; New Latin, from Latin fraenum, frēnum “bridle, restraint,” of disputed origin

Compare meaning

How does frenum compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• frenum vs. frenulum

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

frenum frena

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

Schobinger cites a similar instance, due to loosening of the frenum.

From Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine by Pyle, Walter L. (Walter Lytle)

In the vast majority of cases nothing is found to be wrong with the frenum.

From Manual of Surgery Volume Second: Extremities—Head—Neck. Sixth Edition. by Miles, Alexander

The snout of the hybrid projects less than in R. cataractae and is bridged to the upper lip by a frenum 1.7 mm. wide.

From Five Natural Hybrid Combinations in Minnows (Cyprinidae) by Cross, Frank B.

The only food on hand for injured survivors was yogurt and sweet biscuits known locally as frena.

From Time Magazine Archive

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

The Balanidae or sessile cirripedes, on the other hand, have no ovigerous frena, the eggs lying loose at the bottom of the sack, in the well-enclosed shell; but they have large folded branchiae.

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

In prose, the word is often used of young plants or farm animals; and here frena nouella may well be a metonymy for frena nouellorum equorum.

From The Last Poems of Ovid by Akrigg, Mark Bear

The only instances I have found that are not from Ovid's didactic verse are the present passage and xii 23-24 'tu bonus hortator, tu duxque comesque fuisti, / cum regerem tenera frena nouella manu'.

From The Last Poems of Ovid by Akrigg, Mark Bear