biceps
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See also: bíceps
English[edit]

Etymology[edit]
PIE word |
---|
*dwóh₁ |
From Latin biceps (“double-headed, two peaked”), from bis (“double”) + caput (“head”).
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
biceps (plural biceps or bicepses)
- (anatomy) Any muscle having two heads.
- 1901, Michael Foster, Lewis E. Shore, Physiology for Beginners, page 73:
- The leg is bent by the action of the flexor muscles situated on the back of the thigh, the chief of these being called the biceps of the leg.
- Specifically, the biceps brachii, the flexor of the elbow.
- 1996, Robert Kennedy, Dwayne Hines II, Animal Arms, page 21:
- The arm muscles are the show muscles of the physique. When someone asks to "see your muscles," they are most likely referring to your arms, and more specifically, your biceps.
- (informal) The upper arm, especially the collective muscles of the upper arm.
- 1964 Dec, “Muscles are His Business”, in Ebony, volume 20, number 2, page 147:
- Today, Stonewall's flexed biceps measure 18 inches around.
- 2005, Lisa Plumley, Once Upon a Christmas, page 144:
- Biting her lip, she held his biceps for balance and waded farther.
- 2017, Neil Gaiman, Norse Mythology, Bloomsbury Publishing, page 42:
- Odin examined the arm-ring, then pushed it onto his arm, up high on his biceps.
- (prosody) A point in a metrical pattern that can be filled either with one long syllable (a longum) or two short syllables (two brevia)
- 1987, Martin Litchfield West, Introduction to Greek Metre:
- Also it is advisable to distinguish this ( ˘ ˘ ) — ˘ ˘ — rhythm, where the princeps was probably shorter in duration than the biceps (as in the dactylic hexameter), from true (marching) anapaests, in which they were equal.
- 2000, James I. Porter, Nietzsche and the Philology of the Future, page 347:
- This means that in the metrical sequence […] recited in ordinary speech rhythm, the princeps occupied a slightly shorter time than the biceps (5:6), and if a long syllable was used to fill the biceps it had to be dragged a little […]
Usage notes[edit]
- Now often mistaken as a plural form; see bicep. An archaic plural bicipites, borrowed from the Latin, also exists.
Synonyms[edit]
- (the biceps brachii): biceps brachii, biceps cubiti
- (the upper arm): guns, pipes, pythons, upper arm
Antonyms[edit]
- (prosody): princeps
Derived terms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
any muscle having two heads
|
biceps brachii — see biceps brachii
the upper arm, especially the muscles
|
(prosody) point in a metrical poem
Dutch[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Borrowed from Latin biceps (“two-headed”).
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
biceps m (plural bicepsen, diminutive bicepsje n)
- (anatomy) biceps; any two-headed muscle
- the biceps brachii
- 2007, C. A. Bastiaanssen, Anatomie en Fysiologie, page 387:
- De biceps en de triceps zijn elkaars antagonisten.
- The biceps and the triceps are each other's antagonist.
Synonyms[edit]
- (biceps brachii): armbuigspier, elleboogbuiger, spierbal
Descendants[edit]
- → Indonesian: biseps
See also[edit]
French[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Latin biceps (“double-headed”).
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
biceps m (plural biceps)
- (anatomy) biceps (any two-headed muscle)
- the biceps brachii
- 1978, Freddy Buache, Cinéma Anglais, page 154:
- Mais Bronson se définit uniquement par son physique (biceps, démarche souple) et non par la densité de sa présence ce qui limite ses possibilités d’emploi.
- But Bronson is defined only by his physique (biceps, supple gait) and not by the density of his presence which limits his employment possibilities.
Derived terms[edit]
Further reading[edit]
- “biceps”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Latin[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From bis (“twice”) + -ceps (“headed”).
Pronunciation[edit]
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈbi.keps/, [ˈbɪkɛps̠]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈbi.t͡ʃeps/, [ˈbiːt͡ʃeps]
Audio (Ecclesiastical) (file)
Adjective[edit]
biceps (genitive bicipitis); third-declension one-termination adjective
- double-headed, having two heads
- (of mountains) having two summits or peaks
- (of swords) double-edged
- (by extension) divided into two parts
Declension[edit]
Third-declension one-termination adjective.
Number | Singular | Plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Case / Gender | Masc./Fem. | Neuter | Masc./Fem. | Neuter | |
Nominative | biceps | bicipitēs | bicipitia | ||
Genitive | bicipitis | bicipitium | |||
Dative | bicipitī | bicipitibus | |||
Accusative | bicipitem | biceps | bicipitēs | bicipitia | |
Ablative | bicipitī | bicipitibus | |||
Vocative | biceps | bicipitēs | bicipitia |
Synonyms[edit]
- (double-headed): anceps
Related terms[edit]
Descendants[edit]
References[edit]
- “biceps”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “biceps”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
Polish[edit]

Etymology[edit]
Borrowed from German Bizeps, from Latin biceps (“two-headed”).[1] First attested in 1810.[2][3]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
biceps m inan
- biceps brachii
- 1970, Stanisław Lorentz, Walka o Dobra Kultury, Warszawa 1939-1945, volume 2, page 27:
- I właśnie wtedy przyszło mi na myśl uratowanie prasy powstańczej, którą bardzo troskliwie zbierałem do 2 września, to jest do dnia podpalenia naszego domu, a jednocześnie dnia, kiedy zostałem ranny w prawy biceps.
- And that's exactly when I had the idea to save the uprising press that I very carefully collected until the second of September, that's before the day when our house caught fire, and simultaneously the day when I was injured in my right biceps.
- 1994, “Dialog: Miesięcznik Poświęcony Dramaturgii Współczesnej”, in Związek Literatów Polskich, page 13:
- Podwija rękaw i napina starczy biceps.
LEO: Dziękuję, stąd widzę.
STARZEC (klepie się po bicepsie): Niebywałe!- He [Starzec] rolls up his sleeve and tenses elderly biceps.
LEO: Thanks, I see it from here.
STARZEC (taps himself on the biceps): Unheard of!
- He [Starzec] rolls up his sleeve and tenses elderly biceps.
Declension[edit]
Declension of biceps
References[edit]
Further reading[edit]
- biceps in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
- biceps in Polish dictionaries at PWN
Romanian[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Borrowed from French biceps, from Latin biceps (“two-headed”).
Noun[edit]
biceps m (plural bicepși)
- biceps; any two-headed muscle
- the biceps brachii
Declension[edit]
Declension of biceps
singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
indefinite articulation | definite articulation | indefinite articulation | definite articulation | |
nominative/accusative | (un) biceps | bicepsul | (niște) bicepși | bicepșii |
genitive/dative | (unui) biceps | bicepsului | (unor) bicepși | bicepșilor |
vocative | bicepsule | bicepșilor |
Serbo-Croatian[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Latin biceps (“two-headed”).
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
bìceps m (Cyrillic spelling бѝцепс)
Declension[edit]
Declension of biceps
References[edit]
- “biceps” in Hrvatski jezični portal
Categories:
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European word *dwóh₁
- English terms derived from Latin
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English indeclinable nouns
- English nouns with irregular plurals
- en:Anatomy
- English terms with quotations
- English informal terms
- en:Prosody
- English terms prefixed with bi-
- en:Muscles
- Dutch terms borrowed from Latin
- Dutch terms derived from Latin
- Dutch terms with IPA pronunciation
- Dutch terms with audio links
- Rhymes:Dutch/isɛps
- Dutch lemmas
- Dutch nouns
- Dutch nouns with plural in -en
- Dutch masculine nouns
- nl:Muscles
- Dutch terms with quotations
- French terms derived from Latin
- French 2-syllable words
- French terms with IPA pronunciation
- French lemmas
- French nouns
- French countable nouns
- French masculine nouns
- fr:Anatomy
- French terms with quotations
- fr:Muscles
- Latin terms suffixed with -ceps (headed)
- Latin 2-syllable words
- Latin terms with IPA pronunciation
- Latin terms with audio links
- Latin lemmas
- Latin adjectives
- Latin third declension adjectives
- Latin third declension adjectives of one termination
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- Latin parasynthetic adjectives
- Polish terms borrowed from German
- Polish terms derived from German
- Polish terms derived from Latin
- Polish 2-syllable words
- Polish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Polish terms with audio links
- Rhymes:Polish/it͡sɛps
- Rhymes:Polish/it͡sɛps/2 syllables
- Polish lemmas
- Polish nouns
- Polish masculine nouns
- Polish inanimate nouns
- Polish terms with collocations
- Polish terms with quotations
- pl:Muscles
- Romanian terms borrowed from French
- Romanian terms derived from French
- Romanian terms derived from Latin
- Romanian lemmas
- Romanian nouns
- Romanian countable nouns
- Romanian masculine nouns
- ro:Anatomy
- Serbo-Croatian terms derived from Latin
- Serbo-Croatian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Serbo-Croatian lemmas
- Serbo-Croatian nouns
- Serbo-Croatian masculine nouns