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• tarsus
  tarsus

  noun

  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.
• Tarsus
  Tarsus

  noun

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

tarsus

¹ American  

[tahr-suhs] / ˈtɑr səs /

noun

• tarsi
  plural

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 /

• tarsi
  plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• tarsi
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of tarsus

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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tarsus Tarsus tarsi

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

Hind toe articulated on the inner surface of the tarsus, united to other toes by a web.

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

The fleshy body which succeeds is directed towards the tarsus, but before reaching it is replaced by a tendon.

From Artistic Anatomy of Animals by ?douard Cuyer

The articulations of the bones of the tarsus, and of these with the metatarsus, do not offer any interest with regard to mobility, this being almost wholly absent at that level.

From Artistic Anatomy of Animals by ?douard Cuyer

Bill strong; orbits naked; tarsus naked, male with a knob on the tarsus behind; tail of sixteen feathers, short, bent down.

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

Another eight people were injured in the Tarsus district, Mersin province, according to Turkey's Hurriyet newspaper and CNN Türk.

From BBC ● May 18, 2026

This wasn’t really the plan, any more than Saul of Tarsus planned to become Paul the Apostle on the road to Damascus.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2023

Bruce includes an excerpt from the Apocalypse of Paul, an apocryphal third-century text that narrates a Revelation-style reverie experienced by Paul of Tarsus.

From The New Yorker ● Jan. 14, 2019

Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus had no more electrifying revelation.

From Time ● Oct. 9, 2013

The enthusiastic welcome in Tarsus matched others along his route.

From "Sterling Biographies®: Cleopatra: Egypt's Last and Greatest Queen" by Susan Blackaby

This force relies on the parasite’s highly adapted feet, called tarsi, which are equipped with toothed claws.

From Scientific American ● Mar. 31, 2022

Bill swollen at tip, convex; the upper mandible covered at the base with a soft membrane in which lie the nostrils, with a valve over them; tarsi covered fore and rear with hexagonal scales.

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

Tail of fourteen feathers; tarsi armed with blunt spurs in male.

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

Bill short, cutting edges of the upper mandible nearly straight; tarsi naked; outer toe reversible; claws equal, rounded beneath; wings with the second primary longest.

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

Many specimens have chiggers on the digits and tarsi.

From A Taxonomic Revision of the Leptodactylid Frog Genus Syrrhophus Cope by John D. Lynch

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