forceps

(fôrseps′, -səps)

noun pl. forceps

tongs or pincers for grasping, compressing, and pulling, used esp. by surgeons and dentists

Origin: L, orig., smith's tongs < formus, warm + capere, to take: see have

See forceps in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun pl. forceps forceps
  1. An instrument resembling a pair of pincers or tongs, used for grasping, manipulating, or extracting, especially such an instrument used by a surgeon.
  2. A pincerlike pair of movable appendages at the posterior end of the abdomen in certain insects, such as earwigs.

Origin:

Origin: Latin, fire tongs, pincers; see gwher- in Indo-European roots

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