Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A flat triangular bone located at the front of the knee joint. Also called kneecap.
- n. A dish-shaped anatomical formation.
- n. A pan or dish in ancient Rome.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A small pan, vase, or dish.
- n. In anatomy, a small movable bone situated in front of the knee-joint, which it helps to form. Also called knee-pan, kneecap, rotula, or great sesamoid. See cuts under knee-joint, Catarrhina, and Elephantinæ.
- n. In zoology: A cotyle; a cup-like formation.
- n. A limpet of the genus Patella.
- n. In entomology, the first joint of the coxa.
- n. [capitalized] [NL.] In conchology, a Linnean genus of gastropods, type of family Patellidæ, to which very different limits have been assigned. As originally constituted and retained by Linnæus it was a very heterogeneous assemblage of all forms having a patelliform shell, and embraced (besides all the Docoglossa) Fissurellidæ, Ancylidæ, Calyptræidæ, and related forms.
- n. In botany, an orbicular apothecium with a marginal rim.
Wiktionary
- n. anatomy The sesamoid bone of the knee; the kneecap.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A small dish, pan, or vase.
- n. (Anat.) The kneecap; the kneepan; the cap of the knee.
- n. (Zoöl.) A genus of marine gastropods, including many species of limpets. The shell has the form of flattened cone. The common European limpet (Patella vulgata) is largely used for food.
- n. (Bot.) A kind of apothecium in lichens, which is orbicular, flat, and sessile, and has a special rim not a part of the thallus.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a small flat triangular bone in front of the knee that protects the knee joint
- n. type genus of the family Patellidae: common European limpets
Etymologies
- From Latin patella ("a small pan or dish, a plate; the kneepan, patella"), diminutive of patina ("a broad shallow dish, pan"). (Wiktionary)
- Latin, diminutive of patina, plate, pan; see paten. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Luxation of the patella is a condition wherein the articular portions of the femur and patella assume abnormal relations whether such displacement of the patella be momentary and capable of spontaneous reduction, or fixed and requiring corrective manipulation.”
Lameness of the Horse Veterinary Practitioners' Series, No. 1
“Temporary luxation of the patella is a common affection of the horse and fixed luxation of this bone also occurs.”
Lameness of the Horse Veterinary Practitioners' Series, No. 1
“The patella is a great defence to the front of the knee-joint, and distributes upon a large and tolerably even surface, during kneeling, the pressure which would otherwise fall upon the prominent ridges of the condyles; it also affords leverage to the Quadriceps femoris.”
“Among other defects with which it may be associated, absence or deficient development of the patella is the most frequent.”
Manual of Surgery Volume Second: Extremities—Head—Neck. Sixth Edition.
“MINNEAPOLIS -- J.J. Putz exited Thursday's 11-0 victory over the Twins with what the reliever described as patella inflammation in his right knee.”
“I have researched luxating patella, that is the only thing that I can think that this is. awww .... poor little baby.”
“In which part of your body is the "patella": the arm, the knee or the skull?”
“If the area just below the kneecap ( "patella") is tapped lightly, that tendon is struck and the thigh muscle is momentarily stretched.”
“Indeed, the lemma paella has become so deeply entrenched in our everyday parlance that it has lost its connection to the etymon patina (patena) and later patella, meaning”
“Many toy breeds have health issues such as patella subluxation, mitral valve disease, SM, hip dysplasia, etc.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘patella’.
-
Knee-ded Words
In honor (?) of John
aknee, anomalogonatous, anticnemion, bainberg, bandy-jig, besagne, bight, bott, knee, breast-knee, cartilage, cnemapophysis and 155 more...
-
SCIE - neurology
abducens.....draw..., ablation.....carr..., acetylcholine......., adrenalin.....nea..., afferent.....to c..., agnosia.....no kn..., alar.....wing-like, alexia.....no words, alveus.....canal, amacrine.....no l..., ambidextrous........, ambiguus.....doub... and 701 more...
-
•body-related words that make lovely ...
With thanks to quinn for the idea, seen here. It's true that most diseases cannot double as names for baby boys—but some can. And anyway in their absence I nominate (thanks to Colon/Colin) body p...
colon, lung, langerhans, cuticle, spleen, glottis, calyx, anus, peter, pertussis, strabismus, erysipelas and 26 more...
-
Anatomically Correct
canthus, vibrissa, femoral, sphenoid, dura mater, pia mater, epiglottis, glottis, mons veneris, plaque, tibia, ulna and 96 more...
-
wickedwitch's list
lll
alit, plinth, eclat, diaphanous, portico, nival, daedal, apse, fossa, pellet, avail, midge and 143 more...
-
Human Anatomy
Terms relating to the human body, primarily in osteology.
humerus, scapula, ulna, radius, maxilla, mandible, mandible, occipital bone, parietal bone, frontal bone, tibia, talus and 104 more...
-
Favorite Words of AWP13
We asked attendees who visited the Wordnik booth what their favorite words were, and these are what they told us. (AWP is an annual conference for writers and those in the writing world.)
cling, declivity, susurrus, caramel, cataract, please, fester, reverie, kerplunk!, defenestration, colonel, ocean and 174 more...
-
ifjuly's list
favorite words. some are made up injokes between me and my husband or family.
skein, zaftig, july, bed, orifice, aesthete, ink, parce-que, desormais, cake, pusillanimous, pulse and 531 more...
-
Just 'cause I like 'em, P
pellucid, pertain, pampas, prate, pinecone, philistine, pantocrator, papaverine, postmeridian, potlatch, pharology, pinniped and 622 more...
-
Favorite Body Part Words
pancreas, amygdala, cerebellum, patella, elbow, earlobe, hippocampus, metatarsal, urethra, islet of langerhans, pharynx, eustachian tube and 26 more...
-
Cup of Any Type; Drinking Vessel
Words related to cup of any type or a drinking vessel
poculum, calyx, calix, scyphus, scypha, kylix, cylix, cantharus, cyathus, cyath, acetabulum, cotyle and 5 more...
-
on the body
palm, wrist, sternum, breast, digit, toes, philtrum, pinky, lips, tongue, palate, skin and 80 more...
-
Osteology
osteology, patella, trochanter, illia, interosseous, trochlea, olecranon fossa, epicondyle, epiphysis, glenoid, coracoid, acromion and 8 more...
-
Human Anatomical Terms
Human bits 'n' pieces.
vas deferens, incus, crypts of lieberkühn, patella, pancreas, scaphoid, appendix, rectum, caecum, vagina, hip, ear and 46 more...
-
dem bones
distal phalange, intermediate phal..., proximal phalange, metatarsal, cuboidal bone, lateral cuneiform..., intermediate cune..., medial cuneiform ..., navicular bone, talus, calcaneus, fibula and 47 more...
-
Anthrolocution
Work-related words.. It can have anything to do with human anatomy, linguistics, academic social structures, or archaeological artefacts.
mastoid process, formative, bioarchaeology, external auditory..., zygomatic, squamous, osteology, core-periphery po..., hegemony, niche, epicondyle, iliac and 61 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for patella.
reesetee Maybe Telly. Unless you'd confuse her w/ a bald guy that sucks lollipops. Oct 5, 2007
sonofgroucho I think Patella would be an upmarket sort of chick (to be non-pc for a moment). Oct 5, 2007
uselessness Patty for short? Oct 5, 2007
reesetee I don't know...Patella would be as nice a name for a girl as lunette. :-) Oct 5, 2007
yarb Nah. You want your kneecap to sound knobbly. Your latin words are no good here. Oct 5, 2007
sonofgroucho More elegant than "kneecap", IMHO. Oct 5, 2007