Serving to extend or make longer; having the quality of stretching something out.
From Latin extensus (stretched out) + -ory (indicating function or relation). The suffix -ory comes from Latin -orius, meaning 'relating to' or 'serving to.' The word evolved to describe anything that functions to extend or prolong.
This word is rarely used today, but it shows how English borrowed from scientific and legal Latin—extensory muscles were once a common anatomical term, revealing how scientists needed precise words for body parts with specific functions.
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