femur

[ fee-mer ]
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noun,plural fe·murs, fem·o·ra [fem-er-uh]. /ˈfɛm ər ə/.
  1. Anatomy. a bone in the human leg extending from the pelvis to the knee, that is the longest, largest, and strongest in the body; thighbone.

  2. Zoology. a corresponding bone of the leg or hind limb of an animal.

  1. Entomology. the third segment of the leg of an insect (counting from the base), situated between the trochanter and the tibia.

Origin of femur

1
1555–65; <Latin: thigh

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

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British Dictionary definitions for femur

femur

/ (ˈfiːmə) /


nounplural femurs or femora (ˈfɛmərə)
  1. the longest thickest bone of the human skeleton, articulating with the pelvis above and the knee below: Nontechnical name: thighbone

  2. the corresponding bone in other vertebrates

  1. the segment of an insect's leg nearest to the body

Origin of femur

1
C18: from Latin: thigh

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

Scientific definitions for femur

femur

[ mər ]


  1. The long bone of the thigh or of the upper portion of the hind leg. See more at skeleton.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.