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Glite Dictionary
lobate foot

lobate foot

9.9
A foot with flaps on each toe that helps a bird swim
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : pie lobulado
  • The grebe's lobate foot allows it to swim efficiently in water.

Examples

  • Unlike webbed feet, a lobate foot has lobes on each toe instead of connecting membranes.

  • Many birds with lobate feet are excellent swimmers.

  • Some aquatic birds evolved a lobate foot to help them maneuver through dense vegetation.

  • The duck has a lobate foot that helps it swim.

  • Some aquatic birds evolved a lobate foot to help them maneuver through dense vegetation.

  • The grebe's lobate foot allows it to swim efficiently in water.

  • Unlike webbed feet, a lobate foot has lobes on each toe instead of connecting membranes.

Surface Forms

lobate foot singular
lobate feet plural

Morphology

lobate + foot

The meaning is directly derivable from 'lobate' (having lobes) + 'foot' — a foot with lobes or rounded divisions on the toes; a learner who knows both words can infer the anatomical, descriptive sense. This is a literal, descriptive compound rather than an idiom and follows common cross-linguistic compositional patterns, so it is immediately comprehensible.

Etymology

The noun lobate foot comes from the look of a bird's foot: each toe has a soft lobe along its side and the words lobate and foot describe that shape. These side flaps act like small paddles, so a lobate foot means a bird's foot with flaps that 'help it swim'.