uncus

American

[uhng-kuhs] / ˈʌŋ kəs /

noun

Anatomy.

plural

unci

any hook-shaped or curved part of a body process, especially the hippocampal gyrus in the temporal lobe of the brain.

uncus British

/ ˈʌŋkəs /

noun

zoology anatomy a hooked part or process, as in the human cerebrum

"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

Etymology

Origin of uncus

1820–30; < New Latin, Latin: literally, hook

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The genus name uncus means “hook” in Latin, after the fishhooklike squiggles on the rock left by the fossils.

From Science Magazine

The lower portion, the manubrium, or handle, gives motion to the upper portion, which from its shape is named the uncus, or hook.

From Project Gutenberg

Eventually it ends in the substance of the hippocampus and in the uncus of the temporal lobe.

From Project Gutenberg

The olfactory and gustatory centres are situated in the uncus close to the pituitary fossa.

From Project Gutenberg

Scaphium: a ventral process of the 10th abdominal segment in male Lepidoptera below the uncus.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023