post-furcal
|post-fur-cal|
🇺🇸
/poʊst-ˈfɜrkəl/
🇬🇧
/pəʊst-ˈfɜːkəl/
after the fork
Etymology
'post-furcal' originates from Latin and New/Scientific Latin elements: the prefix 'post-' (Latin 'post') meaning 'after', and 'furcal' from Latin 'furca' meaning 'fork'.
'post-furcal' was formed in modern scientific English by combining the Latin prefix 'post-' with the Neo-Latin adjective 'furcal' (from Latin 'furca'); the compound appears in technical anatomical and entomological descriptions in the 19th–20th centuries and entered specialized usage without major phonological change.
Initially a literal compound meaning 'after the fork', the term has retained that specific anatomical sense and is used primarily as a technical descriptor.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
situated or occurring posterior to a furca (a forked structure); located behind a fork-like division — used in anatomy and zoology (especially entomology).
The setae are concentrated in the post-furcal region of the abdominal segment.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/10/03 03:20