Standard Lemma guide

frenulum

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈfriː.njʊl.əm/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /ˈfrɛn.jəl.əm/
  • CMU ARPABET: F R EH1 N Y AH0 L AH0 M Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A small fold or ridge of tissue that supports or restrains the motion of the part to which it is attached, in particular a fold of skin beneath the tongue, or between the lip and the gum.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: anatomy, medicine, sciences

Examples

  • Humans have three oral frenulums: beneath the tongue, between the upper lip and gum, and between the lower lip and gum.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: frenum

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A small fold or ridge of tissue that supports or restrains the motion of the part to which it is attached, in particular a fold of skin beneath the tongue, or between the lip and the gum.

Such a ridge of tissue connecting the foreskin to the glans on the underside of the penis; the penile frenulum.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: specifically

Topics: anatomy, medicine, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: frenum, fiddlestring

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A bristle or row of bristles on the edge of the hindwings of some lepidoptera which unites the wings by interlocking with a catch on the posterior part of the forewings.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: biology, entomology, natural-sciences, zoology, zootomy

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Borrowed from New Latin frēnulum, diminutive of frēnum (“a bridle, curb, bit”).

Across languages

Translations

32 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: fre — small fold of tissue
  • Catalan: tel de la llengua — small fold of tissue
  • Chinese Mandarin: 繫帶 /系带 (jìdài) — small fold of tissue
  • Czech: uzdička — small fold of tissue
  • Dutch: tongriem — small fold of tissue
  • Esperanto: frenulo — small fold of tissue
  • Finnish: frenulum — small fold of tissue
  • Finnish: kiinnityspoimu — small fold of tissue
  • Finnish: kielijänne — small fold of tissue
  • French: frein — small fold of tissue
  • French: filet — small fold of tissue
  • Galician: freo — small fold of tissue
  • German: Frenulum — small fold of tissue
  • German: some of them are also called Bändchen — small fold of tissue
  • German: most of them have specific compounds — small fold of tissue
  • Greek: χαλινός (chalinós) — small fold of tissue
  • Icelandic: haft — small fold of tissue
  • Inuktitut: ᕿᓪᓗᑕᖅ (qillotaq) — small fold of tissue
  • Italian: frenulo — small fold of tissue
  • Japanese: 小帯 (shōtai) — small fold of tissue
  • Korean: 소대 (sodae) — small fold of tissue
  • Polish: wędzidełko — small fold of tissue
  • Portuguese: freio — small fold of tissue
  • Portuguese: frénulo — small fold of tissue
  • Russian: узде́чка (uzdéčka) — small fold of tissue
  • Spanish: frenillo — small fold of tissue
  • Swedish: frenulum — small fold of tissue
  • Swedish: penissträng — small fold of tissue
  • Swedish: ollonsträng — small fold of tissue
  • Walloon: filé del linwe — small fold of tissue
  • Welsh: ffrwynig — small fold of tissue
  • Welsh: ffrwynyn — small fold of tissue