noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A small fold or ridge of tissue that supports or restrains the motion of the part to which it is attached, in particular a fold of skin beneath the tongue, or between the lip and the gum.

   "Humans have three oral frenulums: beneath the tongue, between the upper lip and gum, and between the lower lip and gum."

2. 2
   A bristle or row of bristles on the edge of the hindwings of some lepidoptera which unites the wings by interlocking with a catch on the posterior part of the forewings.

Synonyms

All synonyms

frenumfrenum

Example

More examples

"Tom had his lingual frenulum removed."

Etymology

Borrowed from New Latin frēnulum, diminutive of frēnum (“a bridle, curb, bit”).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.