English

Noun

furcula ‎(plural furculae or furculæ)

1. (anatomy) A forked process or structure, generally two-pronged.
2. (ornithology) The forked bone formed by the fusion of the clavicles in birds, the wishbone or merrythought.
3. (entomology) The (two-pronged) forked, somewhat tail-like organ held bent forward and secured by a catch beneath most species of Collembola (springtails), with which they jump by releasing the catch abruptly when alarmed.

Translations

Latin

Noun

furcula f

1. small two-pronged fork

References

• furcula in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• furcula in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• FURCULA in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• Félix Gaffiot (1934), “furcula”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette.