Plural of 'acetabulum'; the cup-shaped socket bones in the pelvis that receive the head of the thighbone, or similar cup-shaped structures in anatomy.
From Latin 'acetabulum' (vinegar cup), literally from 'acetum' (vinegar) + 'abulum' (small holder). Romans named this socket bone after the shape of small vinegar dishes they used, because the bone's cavity resembled those shallow cups.
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