əˈdəktə(r), (ˈ)a|d- noun
( -s )
Etymology: New Latin, from Late Latin, conductor, from Latin adductus + -or
1.
a. : any of three powerful triangular muscles that contribute to the adduction of the human thigh:
(1) : one arising from the superior ramus of the pubis and inserted into the middle third of the linea aspera
(2) : one arising from the inferior ramus of the pubis and inserted into the iliopectineal line and the upper part of the linea aspera
(3) : one arising from the inferior ramus of the pubis and the ischium and inserted behind the first two into the linea aspera
b. : any of several muscles other than the adductors of the thigh that draw a part toward the median line of the body or toward the axis of an extremity
2. : a muscle that closes the valves of a bivalve shell (as in the oyster and the scallop) or one of a pair of such muscles (as in other mollusks)