speculum
noun
Simple meaning
A bright, lustrous patch of colour found on the wings of ducks and some other birds.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
spehkyuhluhmSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈspɛkjələm
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
ornithology
A bright, lustrous patch of colour found on the wings of ducks and some other birds, usually situated on the distal portions of the secondary quills, and much more brilliant in the adult male than in the female.
medicine
A medical instrument used during an examination to dilate an orifice.
A mirror, especially one used in a telescope.
A lookout place.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
- Formality
- Technical
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.