hamate bone
- noun
- /ˈhæmeɪt boʊn/
- Specialized
:
húmero
- The middle phalanx of each finger and hamate bone from each cadaver hand was dissected away from surrounding soft tissue, leaving bone and cartilage intact.
- a broken hamate bone
- the right hamate bone
- remove the hamate bone
Examples
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During the game, she injured her wrist and later discovered that she had fractured her hamate bone.
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After breaking his hamate bone, he had to wear a brace to support his wrist during recovery.
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The doctor explained that the hamate bone is crucial for wrist movement and affects grip strength.
Synonyms
1
9.8
A small wedge-shaped bone on the outer side of the wrist near the little finger
A hook-shaped bone in the wrist near the little and ring fingers
A small wrist bone near the little finger, also called the hamate bone
Surface Forms
Morphology
This is fully compositional: 'hamate' names a specific carpal (wrist) bone and 'bone' is the general category, so the phrase simply denotes that particular bone. A B1 learner who already knows the meaning of 'hamate' will immediately understand 'hamate bone'; anatomical naming conventions are direct and cross-linguistically common, supporting transparency.
Etymology
Hamate bone gets its name from an old Latin word meaning 'hook', because this small wrist bone has a hooked, curved part on the outer side near the little fingers. That's why doctors call it the hamate bone when they mean the wrist bone with a 'hook'.