whirl-bone
whirl-bone · whirl-bones
The patella, rotula, or kneecapThe patella, rotula, or kneecap.
Meaning
2 senses(archaic)The patella, rotula, or kneecap.
(archaic)The head of the femur.
Origin
From Middle English whirlebon, whyrlebone, whorlbane (“hip or hip joint; the thighbone, feFrom Middle English whirlebon, whyrlebone, whorlbane (“hip or hip joint; the thighbone, femur; the rounded head of the femur; the kneecap, patella; a vertebra; ankle”), perhaps an alteration of Old English hweorfbān (“a joint, kneecap, vertebra”), equivalent to whirl + bone. Cognate with Scots whorlebone, whorle-bane (“hip bone, joint, vertebra”), German Wirbelbein (“vertebra”).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
plural: whirl-bones| Singular | whirl-bone |
|---|---|
| Plural | whirl-bones |
regular