tarsus

¹ American  

[tahr-suhs] / ˈtɑr səs /

noun

plural

tarsi

1. Anatomy, Zoology. the bones of the proximal segment of the foot; the bones between the tibia and the metatarsus, contributing to the construction of the ankle joint.

2. the small plate of connective tissue along the border of an eyelid.

3. tarsometatarsus.

4. the distal part of the leg of an insect, usually subdivided in the adult into two to five segments.

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Tarsus ² American  

[tahr-suhs] / ˈtɑr səs /

noun

1. a city in S Turkey, near the Mediterranean, on the Cydnus River: important seaport of ancient Cilicia; birthplace of Saint Paul.

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tarsus ¹ British  

/ ˈtɑːsəs /

noun

1. the bones of the ankle and heel, collectively

2. 1. the corresponding part in other mammals and in amphibians and reptiles

   2. another name for tarsometatarsus

3. the dense connective tissue supporting the free edge of each eyelid

4. the part of an insect's leg that lies distal to the tibia

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Tarsus ² British  

/ ˈtɑːsəs /

noun

1. a city in SE Turkey, on the Tarsus River: site of ruins of ancient Tarsus, capital of Cilicia, and birthplace of St Paul. Pop: 231 000 (2005 est)

2. Ancient name: Cydnus.  a river in SE Turkey, in Cilicia, rising in the Taurus Mountains and flowing south past Tarsus to the Mediterranean. Length: 153 km (95 miles)

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tarsus Scientific  

/ tär′səs /

plural

tarsi

1. The group of seven bones lying between the leg and the metatarsals and forming part of the ankle.

2. The group of bones lying between the leg and metatarsals in the hind feet in some vertebrates, such as dinosaurs and birds.

3. A fibrous plate that supports and shapes the edge of the eyelid.

4. The lower part of the leg of an arthropod, usually divided into segments.

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Etymology

Origin of tarsus

1670–80; < New Latin < Greek tarsós flat of the foot

Example Sentences

Some are sturdy leather brogues with heels extending beyond the back of the shoe; others have tongues that take their licks at the ankles, leaving even the slimmest tarsus looking like a giant redwood.

From Time Magazine Archive

Bill compressed, straight, with cutting edges; upper mandible slightly hooked at the point; sides of the gape bristled; tarsus short; wings long; first primary a little shorter than the second, which is the longest.

From British Birds in their Haunts by Johns, Rev. C. A.

Tarsal′gia, pain in the tarsus: a neuralgic affection of the foot from which persons walking much sometimes suffer; Tar′sipes, a small Australian honey-sucking marsupial, of the family Phalangistid�, about the size of a mouse.—adj.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various

In specimens from Los Tuxtlas the tarsal fold is well-developed and extends two-thirds to three-fourths the length of the tarsus; the tibiotarsal articulation reaches the nostril and sometimes slightly beyond the tip of the snout.

From A Distributional Study of the Amphibians of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico by Duellman, William E.

Retrotarsal, rē-trō-tar′sal, adj. being behind the tarsus of the eye.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R) by Various

Related Words

• bone