scapular

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   relating to the scapula or shoulder blade

   The therapist tested the muscles that control scapular movement.

2. 2
   noun

   one of the feathers covering a bird's shoulder at the base of the wing

   The goose's long scapulars curled outward over the folded wing.

3. 3
   noun

   a garment worn over the shoulders as part of some Christian religious habits, or a small devotional form derived from it

   The monk's scapular hung from his shoulders over the tunic.

From Middle English scapeler and Latin scapulare, "garment for the shoulders," from scapulae ("shoulders, shoulder blades"). Anatomy, ornithology, and religious dress all preserve the underlying reference to the shoulder.

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