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  1. uropygium love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. The posterior part of a bird's body, from which the tail feathers grow.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. 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

  1. n. The posterior part of a bird's body from which the tail feathers grow

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. 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

  1. n. posterior part of a bird's body from which the tail feathers grow

Etymologies

  1. Mediaeval Latin, from Ancient Greek οὐροπύγιον (ouropugion, "tail feathers"). (Wiktionary)
  2. 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 Natural History of Selborne, Vol. 1

  • “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. [”

    Darwinism (1889)

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hypernyms (1)

Words that are more generic or abstract

  1. tail

reverse dictionary (5)

Words that contain this word in their definition

  1. pope's nose
  1. rump
  1. uropygial
  1. podex
  1. tail feather

tags (4)

Free-form, user-generated categorization

  1. buttocks
  1. vcvcvcvvc
  1. word-of-the-day
  1. wotd

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Comments

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  • 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

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‘uropygium’ has been looked up 1539 times, loved by 4 people, added to 14 lists, commented on 1 time, and has a Scrabble score of 17.