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Glite Dictionary
lacrimal bone

lacrimal bone

7.9
A small thin bone at the inner side of the eye socket that helps drain tears
  • noun
  • /ˈlækrɪməl boʊn/
  • Specialized
translation icon : hueso lagrimal
  • Damage to the lacrimal bone can affect tear production and drainage.

Examples

  • During the surgery, the doctor examined the patient's lacrimal bone for fractures.

  • The lacrimal bone is one of the smallest bones in the human skull.

  • The lacrimal bone plays a crucial role in the structure of the eye socket.

  • Did you know that the lacrimal bones are among the smallest in the human body?

  • Damage to the lacrimal bone can affect tear production and drainage.

  • The lacrimal bone is one of the smallest bones in the human skull.

  • During the surgery, the doctor examined the patient's lacrimal bone for fractures.

Surface Forms

lacrimal bone singular
lacrimal bones plural

Morphology

lacrimal + bone

The meaning of 'lacrimal bone' is directly and transparently composed from 'lacrimal' (related to tears/tear ducts) + 'bone' (a skeletal element), so a learner who knows both constituents can infer it is a bone associated with the tear apparatus/inner eye socket. This follows a common ADJ+NOUN composition pattern found across languages and requires no idiomatic or metaphorical knowledge.

Etymology

Lacrimal bone comes from the Latin word 'lacrima', which means 'tear', because this small bone sits next to the eye where the tear duct passes and helps tears drain. So the name points to a tiny bone linked to 'tears'.