Definitions

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

  • noun A membranous fold of skin or mucous membrane that supports or restricts the movement of a part or organ, such as the small band of tissue that connects the underside of the tongue to the floor of the mouth.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In anatomy, a ligament or fold of membrane which checks or restrains the motion of a part: as, the frenum linguæ, or bridle of the tongue. See below.
  • noun In entomology, a strong membrane or chitinous ridge extending from the scutellum to the base of each anterior wing. It is prominent in the cicadas and some other insects.

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

  • noun (Zoöl.) A cheek stripe of color.
  • noun (Anat.) Same as Frænum.

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

  • noun Alternative form of frenulum.

Etymologies

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

[Latin frēnum, bridle, from frendere, to grind; see ghrendh- in Indo-European roots.]

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Examples

  • It is added that Constantine declared all the canons of Rome consuls and patricians — “patricios et consules effici” — that he himself held the bridle of the mare on which the new bishop was mounted — “tenentes frenum equi illius.”

    A Philosophical Dictionary 2007

  • However, sometimes we will recommend surgically clipping the frenum to allow more natural movement, especially if it is really tight or in some other way interfering with normal movement.

    Tongue Tied Dr. Dean Brandon 2006

  • If it was a frenum tear, yes those heal, but not back quite so tightly, which is usually a good thing.

    Torn Maxillary Frenum in a Child Dr. Dean Brandon 2006

  • It will cost over a thousand dollars to extract two teeth and clip her lingual frenum, and I have to pay for almost seven hundred of that.

    Archive 2006-12-01 delagar 2006

  • Infants may have a frenum that concerns a parent who is having nursing problems.

    Tongue Tied Dr. Dean Brandon 2006

  • If a young child has hit his mouth, and there is lots of blood especially on his upper teeth lip area, look and see if it might just be a torn maxillary frenum.

    Torn Maxillary Frenum in a Child Dr. Dean Brandon 2006

  • My 8 year old son received a knock to the face and his frenum tore.

    Torn Maxillary Frenum in a Child Dr. Dean Brandon 2006

  • They told us not to worry about it that she would be fine and only had a slightly torn frenum.

    Torn Maxillary Frenum in a Child Dr. Dean Brandon 2006

  • Most of the time a frenum is not the problem in these cases.

    Tongue Tied Dr. Dean Brandon 2006

  • Now just clipping the frenum will not necessarily correct a speech problem.

    Tongue Tied Dr. Dean Brandon 2006

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