extensor

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a muscle whose contraction straightens a limb or increases the angle at a joint

   The extensor on the back of the forearm straightens the wrist.

Appears in

Shortened from medical Latin musculus extensor, 'extending muscle.' Extensor is the agent noun of Latin extendere, 'to stretch out,' from ex-, 'out,' + tendere, 'to stretch.' Anatomical use contrasts an extensor with a flexor, which bends a joint.

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