ˈpelvə̇s noun
( plural pelvis·es -və̇sə̇z ; or pel·ves -ˌvēz)
Etymology: New Latin, from Latin, basin; akin to Old English & Old Norse full cup, Greek pella wooden bowl
1.
a. : a basin-shaped structure in the skeleton of many vertebrates that is formed by the pelvic girdle together with the sacrum and often various coccygeal and caudal vertebrae and that in man is composed of the two innominate bones bounding it on each side and in front while the sacrum and coccyx complete it behind — see bat illustration
b. : the bones of the pelvic girdle viewed as a structural unit in vertebrates in which these bones are not arranged in a basin-shaped structure
c. : the enlarged basipterygial bones that in teleost fishes replace the pelvic bones and support the pelvic fins
2. : the cavity of the bony pelvis comprising in man a broad upper and a more contracted lower part — called also respectively false pelvis and true pelvis
3. : the main cavity of the kidney into which the nephrons discharge urine