tricepsadj.n.

Brit.

/ˈtrʌɪsɛps/, U.S.

/ˈtraɪˌsɛps/

Etymology: < Latin triceps, tricipit-em three-headed, < tri- comb. form + -cep-s, -cipit-, derivative form of cap-ut head. Compare French triceps (16th cent.).

A. adj.

Three-headed (in quot. 1577 loosely, consisting of three heads); spec. of a muscle: Having three heads or points of origin (see B.).

ΘΚΠ

the world > the supernatural > supernatural being > mythical creature or object > [adjective] > of characters from classical mythology > of Cerberus

triceps1577

Cerberean1628

triceptic1716

trifaucian1716

Cerberic1787

trilinguar1824

1577 J. Grange Garden in Golden Aphroditis sig. Rij^v The Triceps head of Cerberus.

1804 J. Abernethy Surg. Observ. 99 An agitation of fluid was felt beneath the triceps muscle in the inside of the arm.

1881 St. G. Mivart Cat 96 A rough process or ‘tuberosity’, into which the triceps muscle is inserted.

B. n.

A triceps muscle; spec. that of the thigh (triceps extensor cruris, t. femoralis) and that of the upper arm (t. extensor cubiti, t. humeralis).

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > structural parts > muscle > muscles of specific parts > [noun] > muscles of limbs

triceps1704

1704 J. Harris Lexicon Technicum I Triceps, is a Muscle of the Thigh, so called from its three Heads or Beginnings.

1846 F. Brittan tr. J. F. Malgaigne Man. Operative Surg. 211 The brachial [artery]..between the biceps and the internal portion of the triceps.

1860 O. W. Holmes Elsie Venner (1887) iii. 33 The triceps..furnishes the calf of the upper arm.

Derivatives

† triˈceptic adj. [irregularly for tricipital adj.] Obsolete three-headed.Apparently an isolated use.

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