Dictionary

fibula en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈfɪb.jəl.ə/ (General-American)
• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈfɪb.jʊl.ə/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin fībula (“buckle, clasp, pin”). The bone is so named because the shape it makes with the tibia resembles a clasp, the fibula being the pin.

Meanings

1. An ancient kind of brooch used to hold clothing together, similar in function to the modern safety pin.
   • Most of the fibulae have a triangular molding above the notch, which probably contained wound wire. The crossbar is decorated either with a flat knob or with a Persian merlon. 1949, N. P. Toll, “Fibulae”, in Teresa G. Frisch, N. P. Toll, edited by M[ikhail] I[vanovich] Rostoftzeff, A. R. Bellinger, F. E. Brown, N. P. Toll, and C. B. Welles, The Excavations at Dura-Europos, Part IV. The Bronze Objects: Fascicle 1. Pierced Bronzes, Enameled Bronzes, and Fibulae, number Final Report IV, New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press; London: Geoffrey Cumberlege, Oxford University Press, →OCLC, Bow Fibulae, page 56:
2. The smaller of the two bones in the lower leg.

Forms

Deriveds

fibulectomy · fibul- · fibulo- · fibulate · tibiofibula · femur fibula ulna syndrome · fibular

Relateds

peroneal · fibularis

Synonyms

calf bone

Translations (17)

es fíbula (ancient brooch) · ka მშვილდსაკინძი (ancient brooch) · ru фи́була (ancient brooch) · fr fibule (ancient brooch) · uga 𐎀𐎄𐎗 (ancient brooch) · ja フィブラ (ancient brooch) · de Fibel (ancient brooch) · ca fíbula (ancient brooch) · sv fibula (ancient brooch) · io fibulo (ancient brooch) · ko 피불라 (ancient brooch) · eo fibolo (ancient brooch) · is feldardálkur (ancient brooch) · pl fibula (ancient brooch) · cmn 胸針 /胸针 (ancient brooch) · kix ūpāh (ancient brooch) · pt fíbula (ancient brooch)