/man"deuh beuhl/ , n.
1. the bone of the lower jaw.
2. (in birds)
a. the lower part of the bill.
b. mandibles , the upper and lower parts of the bill.
3. (in arthropods) one of the first pair of mouthpart appendages, typically a jawlike biting organ, but styliform or setiform in piercing and sucking species.
[ 1375-1425; late ME mandibula jaw, equiv. to mandi- (comb. form of L mandere to chew) + -bula n. suffix of means ]