forceps

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a medical or surgical instrument with two blades or pincers, used for grasping, holding, or extracting something

   The surgeon used fine forceps to remove the fragment without damaging the surrounding tissue.

2. 2
   noun

   a paired, pincerlike appendage on the abdomen of certain insects, especially earwigs

   The earwig raised its curved forceps when the stone was lifted.

A learned borrowing from Latin forceps ("tongs, pincers"), probably formed from roots associated with heat and taking or seizing, since the tool was used to handle hot objects. English adopted the Latin form for grasping instruments in medicine and later extended it to similar anatomical structures.

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