plantigrade

[ plan-ti-greyd ]

/ ˈplæn tɪˌgreɪd /

adjective

walking on the whole sole of the foot, as humans, and bears.

noun

a plantigrade animal.

Nearby words

plantation, plante, planter, planter's punch, planthopper, plantigrade, plantin, plantin, christophe, planting, plantlet, plantocracy

Origin of plantigrade

1825–35; < New Latin plantigradus, equivalent to Latin plant(a) sole + -i- -i- + -gradus -grade

Related formssub·plan·ti·grade, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for plantigrade

This feature and its plantigrade foot with naked sole have led to its being regarded as more allied to the Arctoidea.
The Cambridge Natural History, Vol X., Mammalia|Frank Evers Beddard
It is a plantigrade circumflex vertebrate bacterium that hasnt any wings and is uncertain.
A Horse's Tale|Mark Twain
The limbs are plantigrade, the anterior ones short, the posterior ones very large and strong.
The Vertebrate Skeleton|Sidney H. Reynolds
Plantigrade carnivora, general sterility of the, in captivity, ii.
The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication, Volume II (of 2)|Charles Darwin

Like them it possesses an omnivorous appetite, is plantigrade, and hibernates during cold weather.
Fur Farming|A. R. Harding

British Dictionary definitions for plantigrade

plantigrade

/ (ˈplæntɪˌɡreɪd) /

adjective

walking with the entire sole of the foot touching the ground, as, for example, man and bears

noun

a plantigrade animal

Word Origin for plantigrade

C19: via French from New Latin plantigradus, from Latin planta sole of the foot + gradus a step

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

Word Origin and History for plantigrade

plantigrade

adj.

1831, from French plantigrade "walking on the sole of the foot" (1795), from Latin planta "sole of the foot" (see plant (n.)) + gradus "step" (see grade (n.)).

Medicine definitions for plantigrade

plantigrade

[ plăn′tĭ-grād′ ]

adj.

Walking with the entire sole on the ground, as humans do.

Science definitions for plantigrade

plantigrade

[ plăn′tĭ-grād′ ]

Walking with the entire sole of the foot on the ground, as humans, bears, raccoons, and rabbits.