trochanter
[troh-kan-ter]
- Anatomy. either of two knobs at the top of the femur, the greater on the outside and the lesser on the inside, serving for the attachment of muscles between the thigh and pelvis.
- Zoology. any similar prominence on the femur in many other vertebrates.
- Entomology. (in an insect) the usually small second segment of the leg, between the coxa and femur.
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Origin of trochanter
1605–15; < New Latin < Greek trochantḗr ball on which the hip bone turns in its socket
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for trochanter
Historical Examples
Fulcrant: the trochanter when continued along the femur, as in Carabids.
Explanation of Terms Used in EntomologyJohn. B. Smith
There is a slight ridge on the femur in the place of a third trochanter.
The trochanter is simple in some genera and divided in others.
In the Insectivora a third trochanter is sometimes developed.
The Vertebrate SkeletonSidney H. Reynolds
The femur has a third trochanter (except in Chalicotherium).
The Vertebrate SkeletonSidney H. Reynolds
trochanter
- any of several processes on the upper part of the vertebrate femur, to which muscles are attached
- the third segment of an insect's leg
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Word Origin
C17: via French from Greek trokhantēr, from trekhein to run
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for trochanter
1610s, from French trochanter (16c.), from Greek trokhanter, from trekhein "to run" (see truckle (n.)).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
trochanter
(trō-kăn′tər)- Any of several bony processes on the upper part of the femur.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.