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The Collaborative International Dictionary
Sacrum

Sacrum \Sa"crum\, n.; pl. sacra. [NL., fr. L. sacer sacred, os sacrum the lowest bone of the spine.] (Anat.) That part of the vertebral column which is directly connected with, or forms a part of, the pelvis.

Note: It may consist of a single vertebra or of several more or less consolidated. In man it forms the dorsal, or posterior, wall of the pelvis, and consists of five united vertebr[ae], which diminish in size very rapidly to the posterior extremity, which bears the coccyx.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
sacrum

bone at the base of the spine, 1753, from Late Latin os sacrum "sacred bone," from Latin os "bone" (see osseous) + sacrum, neuter of sacer "sacred" (see sacred). Said to be so called because the bone was the part of animals that was offered in sacrifices. Translation of Greek hieron osteon. Greek hieros also can mean "strong," and some sources suggest the Latin is a mistranslation of Galen, who was calling it "the strong bone."

Wiktionary
sacrum

n. (context anatomy English) A large triangular bone located at the base of the spine between the two hipbones of pelvis and formed from fused vertebrae.

WordNet
sacrum
  1. n. wedge-shaped bone consisting of five fused vertebrae forming the posterior part of the pelvis; its base connects with the lowest lumbar vertebra and its tip with the coccyx

  2. [also: sacra (pl)]

Wikipedia
Sacrum

The sacrum ( or ; plural: sacra or sacrums; Latin os sacrum) in human anatomy is a large, triangular bone at the base of the spine, that forms by the fusing of sacral vertebrae S1S5, between 18 and 30years of age.

The sacrum articulates (forms a joint with) with four other bones. It is situated at the upper, back part of the pelvic cavity, where it is anatomically inserted between the two hip bones (ilium). The two lateral projections of the sacrum are called the alae (wings), and articulate with the ilium at the L-shaped sacroiliac joints. The upper part of the sacrum connects with the last lumbar vertebra, and its lower part with the coccyx (tailbone) via the sacral and coccygeal cornua.

The sacrum has three different surfaces which are shaped to accommodate surrounding pelvic structures. Overall it is concave (curved upon itself). The base of the sacrum (the broadest and uppermost part) is tilted forward as the sacral promontory internally. The central part is curved outward toward the posterior, allowing greater room for the pelvic cavity.

In all other quadrupedal vertebrates, the pelvic vertebrae undergo a similar developmental process to form a sacrum in the adult, even while the bony tail (caudal) vertebrae remain unfused. The number of sacral vertebrae varies slightly. A horse will fuse S1S5, but a dog will fuse S1S3. For example, the rat fuses four pelvic vertebrae between their lumbar and the caudal vertebrae of their tail. The ''Stegosaurus '' dinosaur had a greatly enlarged neural canal in the sacrum, characterized as a "posterior brain case".

Sacrum (disambiguation)

Sacrum is the neuter form of the Latin adjectiv sacer "holy". It may refer to:

  • The sacrum is a large, triangular bone at the base of the spine and at the upper and back part of the pelvic cavity.
  • Canticum Sacrum ad Honorem Sancti Marci Nominis is a 17-minute choral-orchestral piece composed in 1955 by Igor Stravinsky.
  • O Sacrum Convivium is a Latin prose text honoring the Blessed Sacrament.
  • Nomen sacrum means "sacred names" in Latin, and can be used to refer to traditions of abbreviated writing of several frequently occurring divine names or titles in early Greek language Holy Scripture.
  • Annum sacrum is an encyclical of Pope Leo XIII.

Usage examples of "sacrum".

There was a third leg attached to a continuation of the processus coceygeus of the sacrum, and in addition to well developed mammae regularly situated, there were two rudimentary ones close together above the pubes.

Caesar, who encountered him and his multitudes of clients at the corner of the Sacra Via and the Clivus Orbius, just entering the lower Forum.

Aurelia exerted that formidable strength of hers and demonstrated to Lucius Decumius that she was not to be gainsaid, he solved his quandary by moving his protection business to the outer Sacra Via and the Vicus Fabricii, where the local colleges were lacking in such enterprise.

Forum Romanum, Velabrum, Circus Maximus, Forums Boarium and Holitorium, the whole of the Sacra Via out to the Servian Walls and the manufactories of the Vicus Fabricii drowned.

And between the surround and the end wall there lay stacked neatly in four rows the twenty-four Shields of Mars, with the twenty-four Spears of Mars racked in the Sacra Via corner.

Crassus when Caesar ignored the Via Sacra and headed toward the Palatine too.

Limp with relief and amazement, the audience at the top of the Vestal Steps watched that enormous crowd begin to disperse, to stream into the Argiletum and the area around the Markets, up the Via Sacra to the Velia and those parts of Rome beyond.

So they sat down on the verge of the Via Sacra and huddled together to keep out the cold, gazing through horrified eyes at a city accursed.

An unhappy combination which wouldat least from the front aspect of the Sacra Viabe vastly improved by the addition of a proper and imposing temple portico and pediment.

The Brothers Metelli were going to the Palatine, but strolled the short distance up the Via Sacra to the Domus Publica to keep Caesar company.

Markets, up the Via Sacra to the Velia and those parts of Rome beyond.

Sulla was bringing his legion right up the Via Sacra to the gates of the city, with no attempt at subterfuge.

It took almost half an hour from the first signal to the end, but at last, they all stood on the Via Sacra and the natural silence of the countryside seemed to flow back over them.

There was but little perceptible wrong--doing, nothing overt which would cause the lover of his kind to grieve and point to the bad influence of the auri sacra fames.

Asylum: from El-Ees, Elis, Elissa, Eleusis, Eleusinia Sacra, Elysium, Elysii campi in Egypt and elsewhere.