talus
pronunciation
How to pronounce talus in British English:
UK ['teɪləs]
How to pronounce talus in American English:
US ['teɪləs]
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- Noun:
- a sloping mass of loose rocks at the base of a cliff
- the bone in the ankle that articulates with the leg bones to form the ankle joint
Word Origin
- talus (n.1)
- "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).
- talus (n.2)
- "slope," 1640s, from French talus (16c.), from Old French talu "slope, mound, small hill" (12c.), probably from Gallo-Roman *talutum, from Latin talutium "a slope or outcrop of rock debris," perhaps of Celtic origin (compare Welsh, Breton tal "forehead, brow"). OED, however, suggests derivation from root of talus (n.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.
Example
- 1. Also , a bone in her ankle called the talus is shaped like members of our branch of the primates .
- 2. The results and prognosis of avascular necrosis after talus fracture .
- 3. Treatment of talus around tarsal bone dislocation in 22 cases .
- 4. The talus rests upon the upper surface of the calcaneus .
- 5. Pleistocene glaciers further accelerated this process and the larger ones transported the resulting talus and till from valley floors .