hallux

[ hal-uhks ]

noun,plural hal·lu·ces [hal-yuh-seez]. /ˈhæl yəˌsiz/. Anatomy, Zoology.
  1. the first or innermost digit of the foot of humans and other primates or of the hind foot of other mammals; great toe; big toe.

  2. the comparable, usually backward-directed digit in birds.

Origin of hallux

1
1825–35; <Late Latin (h)allux, for Latin hallus, by association with pollex thumb

Words Nearby hallux

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use hallux in a sentence

  • hallux raised above level of other toes; toes with wide lateral lobes, united at base.

  • External nostrils are produced into tubes; anterior toes fully webbed; hallux small or absent.

  • In the posterior limb the tibia and the hallux are pre-axial, the fibula and the fifth toe are postaxial.

    The Vertebrate Skeleton | Sidney H. Reynolds
  • On the pre-axial side of the hallux is the supplemental digit, the prehallux or calcar.

    The Vertebrate Skeleton | Sidney H. Reynolds
  • The first digit or hallux has two phalanges, the second three, the third four, and the fourth five.

    The Vertebrate Skeleton | Sidney H. Reynolds

British Dictionary definitions for hallux

hallux

/ (ˈhæləks) /


noun
  1. the first digit on the hind foot of a mammal, bird, reptile, or amphibian; the big toe of man

Origin of hallux

1
C19: New Latin, from Late Latin allex big toe

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012