Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A sickle-shaped anatomical structure.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A metal implement, of a form suitable for a pruning-hook, sometimes found among ancient remains.
  • noun In anatomy, something which is falcate or falciform; specifically, a fold of the dura mater separating parts of the brain. See falx cerebri and falx cerebelli, below.
  • noun In herpetology, one of the poison-fangs of a serpent: so called from its shape: generally used in the plural.
  • noun In entomology, one of the jointed appendages under the front of a spider's cephalothorax, used to seize and kill its prey.
  • noun In echinoderms, a rotula; one of the mouth-parts of a sea-urchin. See cut under Echinoidea.
  • noun A certain grip or trick in wrestling.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Anat.) A curved fold or process of the dura mater or the peritoneum; esp., one of the partitionlike folds of the dura mater which extend into the great fissures of the brain.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun a short Roman sword that resembles a sickle
  • noun anatomy A curved fold or process of the dura mater or the peritoneum, especially one of the partition-like folds of the dura mater which extend into the great fissures of the brain.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin, sickle.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin

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Examples

  • We observe that it has convolutions, just like the exterior surface, which do not join across the median line, but are separated from those of the left hemisphere by a firm membrane (an extension of the dura mater or principal investing membrane) called the falx, which is removed, leaving the convolutions in view.

    Buchanan's Journal of Man, April 1887 Volume 1, Number 3 1856

  • Calcification of a part of the brain known as the falx cerebri

    Nevoid Basal Cell Carcinoma Syndrome 2010

  • Lateral to the falx is a ligamentous band connected with the lower margin of the Transversus and extending down in front of the inferior epigastric artery to the superior ramus of the pubis; it is termed the interfoveolar ligament of Hesselbach (Fig. 398) and sometimes contains a few muscular fibers.

    IV. Myology. 6d. The Muscles and Fasciæ of the Abdomen 1918

  • The analogy is with crusader, from crux, cross; falsader, from falx, crescent, is then a good match.

    On Thursday, the Legg report will be published along with... 2009

  • Along the Drakensberg slopes and plateau, grass species include Monocymbium ceresiiforme, Diheteropogon filifolius, Sporobolus centrifugus, Harpochloa falx, Rendia altera, Cymbopogon dieterlenii, and Eulalia villosa.

    Drakensberg montane grasslands, woodlands and forests 2008

  • *To make a flax egg, grind 1 tablespoon of golden falx seeds in a mortar and pestle.

    Are These Recipes Keepers? - Bitten Blog - NYTimes.com 2008

  • Fax prompted no fewer than thirty-three suggested alternatives, mc\uAmgfab, fays, feats, fuzz, feaze, phase, and at least two more that are unknown to lexicography: falx and phase.

    I'm A Stranger Here Myself Bryson, Bill 1999

  • The dura-matral falx; A*, its attachment to the tentorium.

    Surgical Anatomy Joseph Maclise

  • Between this septum and the falx an interval occurs, and through it the crural hernia usually descends.

    Surgical Anatomy Joseph Maclise

  • The dura mater was in a sound state, but the pia mater was full of blood and lymph; on it several hydatids, and towards the falx some marks of suppuration were observed.

    An Essay on the Shaking Palsy James Parkinson

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