Mandible

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Mandible \Man"di*ble\, n. [L. mandibula, mandibulum, fr. mandere
     to chew. Cf. {Manger}.]
     1. (Anat.) The bone, or principal bone, of the lower jaw; the
        inferior maxilla; -- also applied to either the upper or
        the lower jaw in the beak of birds.
        [1913 Webster]


  
     2. (Zool.) The anterior pair of mouth organs of insects,
        crustaceaus, and related animals, whether adapted for
        biting or not. See Illust. of {Diptera}.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  mandible
       n : the lower jawbone in vertebrates; it is hinged to open the
           mouth [syn: {lower jaw}, {mandibula}, {mandibular bone},
           {submaxilla}, {lower jawbone}, {jawbone}, {jowl}]