speculum
Americannoun
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specula,
plural
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speculums
plural
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a mirror or reflector, especially one of polished metal, as on a reflecting telescope.
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Surgery. an instrument for rendering a part accessible to observation, as by enlarging an orifice.
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Ornithology. a lustrous or specially colored area on the wings of certain birds.
noun
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a mirror, esp one made of polished metal for use in a telescope, etc
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med an instrument for dilating a bodily cavity or passage to permit examination of its interior
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a patch of distinctive colour on the wing of a bird, esp in certain ducks
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of speculum
1590–1600; < Latin: mirror, equivalent to spec ( ere ) to look, behold + -ulum instrumental suffix; see -ule
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.
See Examples For:
To insert an IUD, a clinician opens the vagina using a speculum and grips the cervix with a type of forceps, which can cause a sudden, sharp pain.
From Slate ● Jun. 7, 2026
Bianca says she asked the nurse to use a smaller speculum after reading about it online.
From BBC ● Feb. 1, 2025
Then, a speculum is used to identify the cervix.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2024
I was in the middle of examining a patient when I dropped my speculum.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 24, 2022
The flight is slow and with the wings very much depressed, as in a duck about to alight on the water; and the beautiful blue, green, and white speculum is thus rendered very conspicuous.
From Argentine Ornithology, Volume II (of 2) A descriptive catalogue of the birds of the Argentine Republic. by W. H. (William Henry) Hudson
Adding “Web MD” brought back the same results, albeit staged in doctors’ offices, with lab coats and specula as props.
From The New Yorker ● Apr. 15, 2019
The firm also apparently compounded its problems through ill-advised specula tion in the market for Government securities.
From Time Magazine Archive
It is a pity that Dr. Walsh does not quote in full Pope John's other and much more interesting bull, Super illius specula, of 1326.
From The Popes and Science The History of the Papal Relations to Science During the Middle Ages and Down to Our Own Time by James J. Walsh
The study of the practical working of specula and lenses has also absorbed a good deal of my spare time during the last two years, and the work involved has been scarcely less difficult.
From Men of Invention and Industry by Samuel Smiles
First, however, let me quote the bull Super illius specula, of which President White has said so much.
From The Popes and Science The History of the Papal Relations to Science During the Middle Ages and Down to Our Own Time by James J. Walsh
Many said there had been shortages of medical equipment such as speculums, emergency adrenaline, ECG patches, forceps and gloves due to "constantly unpaid invoices", which they claimed had resulted in some appointments being cancelled.
From BBC ● Feb. 26, 2025
Research commissioned by the charity suggests most women do not know they can make the test easier by asking for longer appointments, smaller speculums, or move to more comfortable positions.
From BBC ● Jan. 19, 2025
BBC Wales has also been told there have been difficulties obtaining supplies like wound packs and speculums, and that clinics had been cancelled, causing patient backlogs.
From BBC ● Nov. 29, 2024
She also practiced ultrasound techniques and used speculums, swabs and local anesthetic to prepare patients.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 20, 2022
Shut our eyes against them, and we are merely nicely- constructed speculums, which reflect the beauties of nature, but enjoy none.'
From Thaddeus of Warsaw by Jane Porter
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.
