Trabecula
/trəˈbɛkjʊlə/noun
A small beam, rod, or partition, especially one of the delicate structures in spongy bone or other tissue.
Did you know?Renaissance anatomists borrowed the Latin term for tiny beams in architecture to describe the latticework supporting spongy bone.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European (proposed)
PIE
*treb-
“A dwelling or structural framework; a proposed ancestral root associated with Latin trabs”
Classical Latin
Latin
trabs
“Beam, timber, or wooden structural member”
Classical Latin
Latin
trabecula
“A small beam; diminutive of trabs”
Late Latin
Latin
trabecula
“A little beam or narrow structural bar”
16th Century
New Latin
trabecula
“A small anatomical beam or partition, used in anatomical description”
Modern English
English
trabecula
“A delicate beamlike structure, especially in spongy bone”
Explore more surprising origins