This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
tenaculum
[ tuh-nak-yuh-luhm ]
/ təˈnæk yə ləm /
Save This Word!
This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
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.
QUIZ
ALL IN FAVO(U)R OF THIS BRITISH VS. AMERICAN ENGLISH QUIZ
There's an ocean of difference between the way people speak English in the US vs. the UK. Are your language skills up to the task of telling the difference? Let's find out!
Question 1 of 7
True or false? British English and American English are only different when it comes to slang words.
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.
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. WalshSoft 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