patella

noun

pa·​tel·​la pə-ˈte-lə 

plural patellae pə-ˈte-(ˌ)lē  -ˌlī  or patellas

: a thick flat triangular movable bone that forms the anterior point of the knee and protects the front of the joint : kneecap

… the quadriceps are attached at the anterior and anterior lateral aspect of the patella and are extensors of the knee joint.

—John B. Rizzotto

… a few horses suffer from a slipping of the patella—the little bone on the front of the stifle that is similar to the human kneecap—locking the joint so that it cannot flex properly.

—Heather Smith Thomas

The human knee is specialized for walking upright too: to compensate for the thighbone's being at an angle, there's a lump, or groove, at the end of the femur that prevents the patella from sliding off the joint.

—Michael D. Lemonick and Andrea Dorfman

patellar

pə-ˈte-lər 

adjective

Examples of patella in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

That means Georgia’s starting tailback for Saturday’s opener against Clemson could be sophomore Branson Robinson, playing his first game since tearing his patella tendon just more than a year ago. —Seth Emerson, The Athletic, 26 Aug. 2024

The procedure was on his bipartite patella, or a two-part kneecap that didn’t fuse together at birth. —Joe Reedy, Chicago Tribune, 27 Oct. 2024

Specifically, your growing child might encounter a condition called bipartite patella. —​wendy Wisner, Parents, 30 July 2024

The German goalkeeper suffered a ruptured patella tendon during Sunday’s La Liga victory against Villarreal and is expected to be out for several months. —Manuel Veth, Forbes, 23 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin, from diminutive of patina shallow dish

First Known Use

1634, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

patella

noun

pa·​tel·​la pə-ˈtel-ə 

plural patellae -ˈtel-ē 

-ˌī

or patellas

: kneecap

Medical Definition

patella

noun

pa·​tel·​la pə-ˈtel-ə 

plural patellae -ˈtel-(ˌ)ē  -ˌī  or patellas

: a thick flat triangular movable bone that forms the anterior point of the knee, protects the front of the joint, increases the leverage of the quadriceps, and is usually regarded as a sesamoid bone since it is developed in the tendon of the quadriceps and in structure is similar to other sesamoid bones

called also kneecap, kneepan

patellar

-ər 

adjective