brachiate

adj. Zoology
Having arms or armlike appendages.

intr.v., -at·ed, -at·ing, -ates. (-āt')
To move by swinging with the arms from one hold to another, as certain apes do.

[Latin brācchiātus, from brācchium, arm. V., from New Latin brāchiāre, brāchiāt-, from brācchium. See brachium.]

brachiation bra'chi·a'tion n.

(verb: BRAY-kee-ayt, BRAK-ee-ayt, adjective: BRAY-kee-it, BRAK-ee-it)

verb intr.: To move by swinging from one hold to another by using arms.
adjective: Having arms.

Etymology
From Latin brachiatus (having arms), from brachium (arm), from Greek brakhion (upper arm). Ultimately from the Indo-European root mregh-u- (short) that is also the source of brief, abbreviate, abridge, brassiere, and brumal brumal. ]

A gibbon brachiating:



[Photo: Jeff L. Milsteen www.flickr.com/photos/20973954@N07/2603222061 ]

Usage
"Thick-furred, with a red face, the monkey moves by sprawling out and brachiating from branch to branch through the high forest canopy." — Roger Rosenblatt; Earth's Green Gown; Time (New York); Jun 17, 2004.

"The new superfriends head out on their first missions: the isotope feint and a related museum heist, which allows Sydney to dress in cat-burglar clothes and brachiate around an unguarded exhibition." — Virginia Heffernan; Yet More of One Face in Season 4 of 'Alias'; The New York Times; Jan 5, 2005.

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Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The verb has one meaning:

Meaning #1: swing from one hold to the next, as of some arboreal monkeys

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The adjective brachiate has 2 meanings:

Meaning #1: (botany) having widely spreading paired branches

Meaning #2: (zoology) having arms or armlike appendages

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