Advertisement
Advertisement
opposable
/ əˈpəʊzəbəl /
adjective
- capable of being opposed
- Alsoapposable (of the thumb of primates, esp man) capable of being moved into a position facing the other digits so as to be able to touch the ends of each
- capable of being placed opposite something else
Derived Forms
- opˈposably, adverb
- opˌposaˈbility, noun
Other Words From
- op·posa·bili·ty noun
- nonop·posa·ble adjective
- unop·posa·ble adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of opposable1
Example Sentences
Humans and other primates such as chimps, gorillas and orangutans also benefit from the use of opposable thumbs, which can be bent over the hand to touch the tips of the other fingers.
It remains to be seen whether other creatures with opposable-thumbs can snap, but that might be the next piece of the puzzle.
That elemental, primitive value of what we can do as animals with opposable thumbs, I don’t want that to atrophy.
This may be because moving around a joystick with your snout is a lot harder than with opposable thumbs, or because the pigs are just not as good at the task as primates.
If frogs had opposable thumbs, Kermit would be twiddling them when Muppets Most Wanted begins.
In the Didelphyidae the foot is broad, all five digits are well developed, and the hallux is opposable to the others.
In the Phalangers and Koalas though the second and third toes are very slender, the hallux is well developed and opposable.
It had the same place in crustacean development that the opposable thumb is believed to have had in that of man.
What a comedy that man should work so hard to prove that his chief glory is his opposable thumb, or a few ounces of brain matter!
Both thumb and great toe are opposable; but the foot is a true foot, and the hand a true hand, in anatomical structure.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Browse