whirl-bone

See also: whirlbone

English

Alternative forms

  • whirlbone, whirl bone
  • whirly-bone (dialectal)

Etymology

From Middle English whirlebon, whyrlebone, whorlbane (“hip or hip joint; the thighbone, femur; the rounded head of the femur; the kneecap, patella; a vertebra; ankle”), perhaps an alteration of Old English hweorfbān (“a joint, kneecap, vertebra”), equivalent to whirl +‎ bone. Cognate with Scots whorlebone, whorle-bane (“hip bone, joint, vertebra”), German Wirbelbein (“vertebra”).

Noun

whirl-bone (plural whirl-bones)

  1. (medicine, archaic) The patella, rotula, or kneecap.
  2. (medicine, archaic) The head of the femur.
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