chelicera

[ kuh-lis-er-uh ]

noun,plural che·lic·er·ae [kuh-lis-uh-ree]. /kəˈlɪs əˌri/.
  1. one member of the first pair of usually pincerlike appendages of spiders and other arachnids.

Origin of chelicera

1
1825–35; <New Latin, equivalent to cheli-cheli- + Greek kér(as) horn + Latin -a feminine noun ending

Other words from chelicera

  • che·lic·er·al, adjective
  • che·lic·er·ate [kuh-lis-uh-reyt, -er-it], /kəˈlɪs əˌreɪt, -ər ɪt/, adjective

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How to use chelicera in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for chelicera

chelicera

/ (kɪˈlɪsərə) /


nounplural -erae (-əˌriː)
  1. one of a pair of appendages on the head of spiders and other arachnids: often modified as food-catching claws

Origin of chelicera

1
C19: from New Latin, from French chélicère, from chél- see chela 1 + -cère from Greek keras horn

Derived forms of chelicera

  • cheliceral, adjective

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