tomium

[toh-mee-uhm]

noun

plural

tomia 

1. the cutting edge of a bird's bill.

Other Word Forms

• tomial adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of tomium¹

1825–35; < New Latin, equivalent to Greek tóm ( os ) a cutting ( tome ) + New Latin -ium -ium

Example Sentences

This only involves removing 1-2 mm of the tomium by the way – it isn’t anything like the brutal de-beaking indulged in by the factory chicken industry.

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Later oviraptorosaurs were toothless, but the bony premaxillary margins of their upper jaw were serrated, raising the possibility that the tomium was serrated too.

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Tomium, tō′mi-um, n. the cutting edge of a bird's bill.—adj.

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