Definition
A hand tool with two opposing arms joined at a pivot, used for gripping, holding, or extracting small objects in tight spaces. In aviation maintenance, forceps are used for handling small hardware, safety wire, cotter pins, electrical components, and other items that are awkward or impossible to grasp by hand.
Plain English
A small pincer-like tool, similar to long tweezers, used to grab and hold small parts that fingers cannot easily reach or handle.
Context Anchor
Seen in aircraft maintenance, inspection, and repair work when a mechanic needs to handle a small part without using fingers directly.
Derivation
From Latin forceps, meaning 'pair of tongs' or 'pincers,' originally formed from formus ('hot') and capere ('to take') -- literally a tool for taking hold of hot things. The aviation use keeps the same idea: a tool for grasping what the hand cannot.
Why Pilots Care
Forceps help prevent small parts from being dropped, lost, or placed poorly during maintenance work, especially in tight areas of the aircraft.
Intuition Check
Forceps are not only a medical tool. In aircraft maintenance, the word means a small gripping tool used to hold or retrieve parts.
Example Sentence 1
The mechanic used forceps to retrieve a washer that had dropped into the engine cowling.
Example Sentence 2
Forceps gave the needed precision when positioning the tiny wire during the instrument panel repair.