brachiate
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Adjective:
- Having arms or armlike appendages: Describes an organism or structure possessing limbs or extensions that resemble arms.
- Having widely spreading paired branches: Specifically used in botany to describe a plant, especially a tree, whose branches grow in pairs that spread out widely and symmetrically.
Verb:
- To swing from one hold to the next using the arms: Refers to the locomotion of certain animals, like monkeys or apes, that move by swinging from branch to branch using their arms.
Examples of Usage
Adjective:
- The brachiate structure of the maple tree is beautiful in winter. (The maple tree's widely spreading paired branches are beautiful in winter.)
- Gibbons are brachiate primates, perfectly adapted for life in the canopy. (Gibbons are primates with arm-like limbs, perfectly adapted for life in the canopy.)
Verb:
- The gibbons brachiate through the treetops with incredible speed and grace. (The gibbons swing through the treetops with incredible speed and grace.)
- To cross the gap, the monkey had to brachiate from one vine to another. (To cross the gap, the monkey had to swing from one vine to another.)
Advanced Usage
- Used in scientific descriptions: The term is most commonly found in biological and botanical contexts.
- The study focused on the brachiate locomotion of orangutans. (The study focused on the swinging locomotion of orangutans.)
- Brachiate venation is a characteristic of some plant leaves. (Venation with widely spreading paired veins is a characteristic of some plant leaves.)
Variants and Related Words
- Brachiation (n): The act or mode of progression by swinging from the arms.
- Brachiation is the primary mode of travel for siamangs. (Swinging from the arms is the primary mode of travel for siamangs.)
Synonyms
- Adjective (for branches): Spreading, divergent.
- Verb: Swing, traverse by swinging.
Notes on Meaning
- The adjective and verb forms are directly related but used in different contexts (botany/zoology vs. animal locomotion).
- It is a specialized term not commonly used in everyday conversation.
Adjective
- having arms or armlike appendages
- having widely spreading paired branches
- maples are brachiate
Verb
- swing from one hold to the next
- the monkeys brachiate