musculus pectoralis major
- noun
- /ˈmʌskjələs pɛkˈtɔrəlɪs ˈmeɪdʒər/
- Specialized
:
músculo pectoral mayor
- The musculus pectoralis major helps adduct and rotate the arm during physical activities.
Examples
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Bodybuilders work to increase the size of their musculus pectoralis major for a more prominent chest appearance.
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An injury to the musculus pectoralis major can significantly reduce shoulder strength.
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During the surgery, the musculus pectoralis major was carefully separated to access the underlying tissues.
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The musculus pectoralis major plays a crucial role in arm movement.
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Strengthening the musculus pectoralis major can improve your overall fitness.
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An injury to the musculus pectoralis major can significantly reduce shoulder strength.
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Bodybuilders work to increase the size of their musculus pectoralis major for a more prominent chest appearance.
Synonyms
A large chest muscle that helps move the arm toward the body and turn it
A large chest muscle that pulls the arm toward the body and turns it inward
Surface Forms
Morphology
musculus + pectoralis + major
This is a fully compositional anatomical name: 'musculus' = muscle, 'pectoralis' = of the chest/pectoral region, and 'major' = larger, so the meaning 'the large chest muscle' is directly derivable from the constituents. Although the phrase is Latin and technical, the morphological logic of anatomical names is regular and cross-linguistically familiar, so a B1 learner who knows the parts would readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
Musculus pectoralis major comes from old Latin words: musculus meaning 'little mouse', pectoralis meaning 'of the chest', and major meaning 'larger'. People long ago thought a moving chest muscle looked like a small mouse under the skin, so the name points to the big chest muscle that brings the arm to the body and turns it.
