Standard Lemma guide

metacarpal

adj · noun · 4 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.

  • mĕt′ə-kär′pəl
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌmɛt.əˈkɑː.pəl/
  • Canada, General-American: /ˌmɛt.əˈkɑɹ.pəl/
  • California: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australian, New-Zealand: /ˌmet.əˈkɐː.pəl/
  • Scotland: /ˌmɛt.əˈkaɹ.pəl/
  • rhymes with -ɑː(ɹ)pəl
  • CMU ARPABET: M EH2 T AH0 K AA1 R P AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Of the metacarpus.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Any of the bones of the metacarpus.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: anatomy, medicine, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: metacarpal bone

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: bone

3

adjective

Meaning 3

of or relating to the metacarpus

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • metacarpal bones

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

any bone of the hand between the wrist and fingers

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: metacarpal bone

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: bone, os

History

Etymology

From metacarpus + -al or metacarp- + -al.

Across languages

Translations

39 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: предкитков (predkitkov) — of the metacarpus
  • Catalan: metacarpià — of the metacarpus
  • Chinese Mandarin: 掌骨的 (zhǎnggǔ de) — of the metacarpus
  • Finnish: kämmen- — of the metacarpus
  • French: métacarpien — of the metacarpus
  • Icelandic: miðhandar- — of the metacarpus
  • Icelandic: handarbaks- — of the metacarpus
  • Latin: metacarpālis — of the metacarpus
  • Polish: śródręczny — of the metacarpus
  • Portuguese: metacarpal — of the metacarpus
  • Russian: пястно́й (pjastnój) — of the metacarpus
  • Russian: метакарпа́льный (metakarpálʹnyj) — of the metacarpus
  • Spanish: metacarpiano — of the metacarpus
  • Swedish: mellanhands- — of the metacarpus
  • Arabic: مُشْط الْيَد (mušṭ al-yad) — any of the bones of the metacarpus
  • Arabic: مشط الإيد (mešṭ el ʔiyd) — any of the bones of the metacarpus
  • Bulgarian: предкиткова кост (predkitkova kost) — any of the bones of the metacarpus
  • Catalan: metacarpià — any of the bones of the metacarpus
  • Chinese Mandarin: 掌骨 (zhǎnggǔ) — any of the bones of the metacarpus
  • Finnish: kämmenluu — any of the bones of the metacarpus
  • French: métacarpe — any of the bones of the metacarpus
  • German: Mittelhandknochen — any of the bones of the metacarpus
  • Hungarian: kézközépcsont — any of the bones of the metacarpus
  • Icelandic: miðhandarbein — any of the bones of the metacarpus
  • Icelandic: hnúaleggur — any of the bones of the metacarpus
  • Icelandic: handarbaksleggur — any of the bones of the metacarpus
  • Italian: metacarpo — any of the bones of the metacarpus
  • Northern Kurdish: hestiyên şeyê dest — any of the bones of the metacarpus
  • Latin: os carpī — any of the bones of the metacarpus
  • Latin: manus — any of the bones of the metacarpus
  • Māori: iwi papanui — any of the bones of the metacarpus
  • Polish: kość śródręcza — any of the bones of the metacarpus
  • Portuguese: metacárpico — any of the bones of the metacarpus
  • Portuguese: metacarpiano — any of the bones of the metacarpus
  • Portuguese: metacarpal — any of the bones of the metacarpus
  • Russian: пястна́я кость (pjastnája kostʹ) — any of the bones of the metacarpus
  • Spanish: metacarpiano — any of the bones of the metacarpus
  • Swedish: mellanhandsben — any of the bones of the metacarpus
  • Swedish: metakarpalben — any of the bones of the metacarpus