unciform

[ uhn-suh-fawrm ]

/ ˈʌn səˌfɔrm /

Save This Word!

adjective

hook-shaped.

QUIZ

WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?

Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!

Question 1 of 7

Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.

who

whom

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of unciform

1725–35; <New Latin unciformis, equivalent to Latin unc(us) a hook, barb (cognate with Greek ónkos) + -i--i- + -formis-form

Words nearby unciform

unchristian, unchurch, unchurched, uncia, uncial, unciform, uncinariasis, uncinate, uncinate process, uncinus, UNCIO

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

How to use unciform in a sentence

In the carpus the os magnum articulates freely with the scaphoid, and is separated from the cuneiform by the lunar and unciform.
The Vertebrate Skeleton|Sidney H. Reynolds
The final bone of that series, the unciform, seems to represent two bones fused.
The Cambridge Natural History, Vol X., Mammalia|Frank Evers Beddard

British Dictionary definitions for unciform

unciform

/ (ˈʌnsɪˌfɔːm) /

adjective

anatomy zoology having the shape of a hook

noun

Also called: hamate bone anatomy any hook-shaped structure or part, esp a small bone of the wrist (unciform bone)

Word Origin for unciform

C18: from New Latin unciformis, from Latin uncus a hook

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