Elbow

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /ˈɛlbəʊ/

Definitions

1. The joint in the middle of the arm that allows it to bend
2. A joint located in the human arm that connects the upper limb and forearm, facilitating flexion and movement in the arm
3. The part of the arm where it bends between the upper and lower sections, enabling movement and flexibility

Etymology: The English "elbow" is built from two much older words: "ell", a unit of length roughly the distance from the elbow to the fingertips, and "bow", meaning a bend or curve. Put together, the name describes the joint as the bend of the ell-measure, the point where the forearm folds back on itself. The compound is very old. Its ancestor, Proto-Germanic "alinabugô", was already in use among the early Germanic peoples, and Old English had "elnboga" and "elboga" for the joint. Middle English rounded it to the "elbowe" form that leads to today's spelling, and the word has descendants across the Germanic family, from German "Ellbogen" to Swedish "armbåge". Because the word is so old, it was never coined for a specific purpose; its meaning has stayed remarkably steady, unlike many body-part names that shifted across the centuries. The verb sense, to push or shove with the elbow, grew naturally from the noun.

Synonyms: joint, bend, angle, arm bend