Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. The posterior part of a bird's body, from which the tail feathers grow.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. In ornithology, the rump; the terminal section of the body, represented by the caudal vertebræ, into which the tail-feathers are inserted; also, the upper surface of this part, or terminal section of the notæum, with limits not defined. See cuts under bird and elæodochon.
Wiktionary
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Anat.) The prominence at the posterior extremity of a bird's body, which supports the feathers of the tail; the rump; -- sometimes called
pope's nose .
WordNet 3.0
- n. posterior part of a bird's body from which the tail feathers grow
Etymologies
- Mediaeval Latin, from Ancient Greek οὐροπύγιον (ouropugion, "tail feathers"). (Wiktionary)
- New Latin ūropygium, from Greek ouropugion : ouro-, tail; see uro-2 + pugē, rump. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“A range of short brown stiff feathers, about six inches long, fixed in the _uropygium_, is the real tail, and serves as the fulcrum to prop the train, which is long and top-heavy, when set on end.”
“The crown of the head, the throat, the ear-coverts, and the eyes have usually distinct tints in all highly coloured birds; the region of the furcula has often a distinct patch of colour, as have the pectoral muscles, the uropygium or root of the tail, and the under tail-coverts. [”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘uropygium’.
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Not in the Periodic Table
Words that sound like they might be the names of elements of the periodic table, but that aren't. Many of the words listed here were actually proposed as names for substances their creators thought...
tentorium, columbarium, nasturtium, deuterium, caladium, valerian, concordium, synangium, chorium, geranium, hymenium, pyrenium and 310 more...
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250 Extra Spelling Words
Some more words for intermediate and advanced spellers.
cultellarius, barouche, palanquin, badelaire, cavetto, tregetour, tergiversate, rhododendron, rhadamanthine, thyrsus, cappelletti, bradycardia and 238 more...
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phrontistery-u
from phrontistery.info
uxorious, uxorial, uvid, uvelloid, uvala, utriform, utriculiform, utricle, utricide, utraquist, utinam, utilitarianism and 175 more...
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Logolepsy
"Luciferous Logolepsy is a collection of over 9,000 obscure English words. Though the definition of an 'English' word might seem to be straightforward, it is not. There exist so many adopted, deriv...
Anschauung, Areopagus, Argus, Briarean, Dei gratia, Dei judicium, Deo volente, Duecento, Foehn, Geflugelte Worte, Gegenschein, Hakenkreuz and 9230 more...
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trace
utum, diorite, Mandelbrot, uropygium, bravura, vulpine, vervain, burdock, souse, shantay, legume, sinew and 26 more...
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Verba Dilecta
delectable, notate, pauciloquy, paucity, pauciloquent, paucify, interscapilium, uropygium, inferna, nota, equipollent, prepollent and 677 more...
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ktrey's wordlist
Words that I like.
Many may be lexicographically impotent due to a lack of citations and definition. Hopefully I'll be able to rectify this eventually.velleity, dispositive, bloviate, bibulous, fungible, concupiscence, avuncular, carnaptious, thrawn, hypocoristic, diegesis, lagniappe and 928 more...
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Taxonomy and Zoological Terms
Families, uncommonly referenced species, etc - with scientific, not common terms. Eg., "psyllid," not "louse."
psyllid, Mustelidae, arctonyx, Hyracotherium, gerenuk, uropygium
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Name, a Novel
Odd words and odder juxtapositions of words from Name, a Novel by Toadex Hobogrammathon. Some would consider these dystopic "junk phrases", and that's precisely why I like them. Full text at the Po...
corkoid Spanish m..., flock of fried an..., like a bad dram, unsuspectedly Mal..., sudatory ministerium, dice-coal praemunire, praemunire, teocalli, sclaff, labiovelar weathe..., bigeneric loss ad..., good time unrestr... and 1413 more...
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Words of the Day
glabella, chirotony, nook-shotten, crapehanger, filemot, swirlie, egosurf, lexiphanicism, Ruritanian, stichometry, chrononaut, faldstool and 2031 more...
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Things Avian
Wordies relating to birdies. :-)
calidrid, corvid, avian, avifauna, beak, brood, aerie, altricial, albumen, winged, wattle, covey and 217 more...
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qreen-tailed
in the Century Dictionary definition of 'menhaden' there is a misprint - I speculate- o 'qreen-tailed'for green-tailed. BUT there are alot of odd-tails out there..............
uropygium, hypural, nudicaudate, plesiosaur, macrural, curvicaudate, homocercal, jabiru, xeme, sirenian, dugong, saururaceae and 56 more...
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Words That I Just Like
lagniappe, aposiopesis, o'ertake, polycephaly, Ouroboros, demiurge, fey, diaphanous, mizzenmast, uropygium, estuary, languor and 38 more...
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Botany & Other Sciences
Weird/funny/unknown to me plant names, botany terms, & other science vocabulary.
cicely, thrave, osmunda, turnsole, bosky, auxin, xerarch, lycophyte, anthophilous, ramose, scalpellum, scape and 27 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for uropygium.

reesetee The fleshy hindmost part of a bird's body from which the tail feathers grow. Note: Fans of callipygian may enjoy the fact that the second part of both words derives from the same root: the Greek pugē, "buttocks." :-) Nov 15, 2007