talus
1- the uppermost bone of the proximal row of bones of the tarsus; anklebone.
Origin of talus
1talus
2- a slope.
- Geology. a sloping mass of rocky fragments at the base of a cliff.
- Fortification. the slope of the face of a work.
Origin of talus
2Related Words for talus
bone, slope, ridge, dune, bluff, cliff, hillside, hilltop, highland, talus, anklebone, tarsus, astragalus, promontory, down, headland, stack, ascent, gradient, hillockExamples from the Web for talus
Historical Examples of talus
At the foot of the talus he stopped to listen, wondering how close behind him the water might be.
Space PrisonTom Godwin
Talus, the nephew of Ddalus by his sister, is said in the viij.
The Way To GeometryPeter Ramus
Valley of the Rhone, with the waterfall of Sallenches, showing a talus of debris 261 27.
The Beauties of NatureSir John Lubbock
Might they not belong merely to the talus of this bank of boulder-clay?
The Cruise of the BetseyHugh Miller
The snow is in this case but a substitute for a normal mass of talus.
The Andes of Southern PeruIsaiah Bowman
talus
1- the bone of the ankle that articulates with the leg bones to form the ankle jointNontechnical name: anklebone
Word Origin for talus
talus
2- geology another name for scree
- fortifications the sloping side of a wall
Word Origin for talus
Word Origin and History for talus
"anklebone," 1690s, from Latin talus "ankle, anklebone, knucklebone" (plural tali), related to Latin taxillus "a small die, cube" (they originally were made from the knucklebones of animals).
"slope," 1640s, from French talus (16c.), from Old French talu "slope" (12c.), probably from Gallo-Romance *talutum, from Latin talutium "a slope or outcrop of rock debris," possibly of Celtic origin (cf. Breton tal "forehead, brow").
OED, however, suggests derivation from root of talus (1) in the sense of "heel" which developed in its Romanic descendants. Mainly used of military earthwork at first; meaning "sloping mass of rocky fragments that has fallen from a cliff" is first recorded 1830.
talus
(tā′ləs)- The bone of the ankle that articulates with the tibia and fibula to form the ankle joint.anklebone astragalus
- The ankle.
talus
1- The bone of the ankle that articulates with the tibia and fibula to form the ankle joint.
talus
2- Rock fragments that have accumulated at the base of a cliff or slope.♦ The concave slope formed by such an accumulation of rock fragments is called a talus slope.