unguiculate

[ uhng-gwik-ye-lit, -leyt ]

adjectiveAlso un·guic·u·lat·ed.

bearing or resembling a nail or claw.
Zoology. belonging or pertaining to the former superorder Unguiculata, comprising mammals having nails or claws, as distinguished from hoofs.

Botany. having a clawlike base, as certain petals.

noun

an unguiculate animal.

Origin of unguiculate

1795–1805; <New Latin unguiculātus, equivalent to Latin unguicul(us) fingernail (ungu(is) (see unguis) + -i--i- + -culus-cule¹) + -ātus-ate¹

Words Nearby unguiculate

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

How to use unguiculate in a sentence

Palpi four: anterior pair pediform, cheliform, or unguiculate; posterior pediform.
An Introduction to Entomology: Vol. IV (of 4) | William Kirby
Foot broad, with two slender posterior appendages; operculum unguiculate.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 5 | Various
unguiculate petals are universal and strongly marked in the Pink tribe, as in Soapwort (Fig. 248).
The Elements of Botany | Asa Gray
Quadrupeds he was the first to divide into ungulate and unguiculate, hoofed and clawed, having himself invented the Latin words.
Introduction to the Literature of Europe in the Fifteenth, Sixteenth, and Seventeenth Centuries, Vol. 2 | Henry Hallam
Thus, for example, the tubulate corolla supposes the pre-existence of unguiculate petals.
Everyday Objects | W. H. Davenport Adams

British Dictionary definitions for unguiculate

unguiculate

/ (ʌŋˈɡwɪkjʊlɪt, -ˌleɪt) /

adjective

(of mammals) having claws or nails
(of petals) having a clawlike base

noun

an unguiculate mammal

Origin of unguiculate

C19: from New Latin unguiculātus, from Latin unguiculus, diminutive of unguis nail, claw

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

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