antenna

Definition

An appendage used for sensing on the head of an insect, crab, or other animal.

Etymology

From Latin antenna, antemna (“yard, sailyard; pole”). First used in this sense as a Latin word in the 15th century and as an English word by the end of the 17th century.

Example Sentences

• "The overall shape of most insect antennae is elongate and cylindrical, although elaborations into plumose, lamellate, or pectinate forms have arisen many times in different insect lineages."
• "He put his fingers over his head like two antennas, crossed his eyes, and waggled his tongue like some kind of insect. In the same work, Brown uses antennae to refer to both aerials and feelers during more technical descriptions."
• "The basis of these relationships lies in the olfactory chemoreceptors of insect antennas..."