tenaculum

[ tuh-nak-yuh-luhm ]

/ təˈnæk yə ləm /

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noun, plural te·nac·u·la

[tuh-nak-yuh-luh]. /təˈnæk yə lə/.

Surgery. a small sharp-pointed hook set in a handle, used for seizing and picking up parts in operations and dissections.

Entomology. a clasplike appendage on the abdomen of a springtail, which holds the springing device in place.

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Origin of tenaculum

1685–95; <Latin tenāculum instrument for gripping, equivalent to ten(ēre) to hold + -ā- (from v. stems ending in -ā-;see gubernaculum) + -culum-cule²

Words nearby tenaculum

tenace, tenacious, tenaciously, tenacity, ten-acre block, tenaculum, Tenafly, tenaille, tenaim, tena koe, tena korua

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use tenaculum in a sentence

The patient is in the lithotomy position, the speculum is passed and the cervix pulled down by a tenaculum.
A System of Operative Surgery, Volume IV (of 4)|Various
Nasal polyps were to be grasped with a sharp tenaculum, cum tenacillis acutis, and either wholly or partially extracted.
Old-Time Makers of Medicine|James J. Walsh
Soft polyps should be drawn out with a toothed tenaculum as far as can be without risk of breaking them off.
Old-Time Makers of Medicine|James J. Walsh

British Dictionary definitions for tenaculum

tenaculum

/ (tɪˈnækjʊləm) /

noun plural -la (-lə)

a surgical or dissecting instrument for grasping and holding parts, consisting of a slender hook mounted in a handle

Word Origin for tenaculum

C17: from Late Latin, from Latin tenēre to hold

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012