Dictionary entry

Chelicera

Webster's Dictionary 1913

‖Che‐lic″e‐ra (kē̍‐lĭs″ē̍‐rȧ), n.; pl.Cheliceræ (–rē). [NL., fr. Gr. χηλή claw + κέρασ horn.] (Zoöl.) One of the anterior pair of mouth organs, terminated by a pincherlike claw, in scorpions and allied Arachnida. They are homologous with the falcers of spiders, and probably with the mandibles of insects.