palp

[ palp ]

noun

1. a palpus.

palp

/ ˈpælpəs; pælp /

noun

1. either of a pair of sensory appendages that arise from the mouthparts of crustaceans and insects
2. either of a pair of tactile organs arising from the head or anterior end of certain annelids and molluscs

palp

/ pălp /

1. A segmented organ extending from the mouthparts of arthropods, used for touch or taste.
2. Also called palpus

Derived Forms

• ˈpalpal, adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of palp¹

C19: from French, from Latin palpus a touching

Example Sentences

When a male Mongolian desert beetle finds a potential mate, he begins rubbing a protruding mouthpart called a maxillary palp over her genitals.

From Scientific American

I had 103.7° fever, a blood pressure that was 80 over palp, and oxygen levels that were so low I required oxygen support at a level just below that achieved with mechanical ventilation.

From Salon

“They’ve succeeded finally in achieving a lifetime limited only by the power available to the system,” says particle physicist Burton Richter of Stanford University in Palp Alto, California, who sits on a board of advisers to Tri Alpha.

From Science Magazine

Extracellular recordings from the capitate-peg sensilla on the maxillary palp were performed as described.

From Nature

In many blood-sucking flies, for example, the galea is absent, while the lacinia becomes a strong knife-like piercer and the palp is well developed.

From Project Gutenberg