Tarsus

Tar·sus  (tärss)

A city of southern Turkey near the Mediterranean Sea west of Adana. Settled in the Neolithic Period, it was one of the most important cities of Asia Minor under Roman rule (after 67 b.c.). Saint Paul was born in Tarsus. Population: 216,000.

---

tar·sus  (tärss)

n. pl. tar·si (-s, -s)

1.

a. The section of the vertebrate foot between the leg and the metatarsus.

b. The bones making up this section, especially the seven small bones of the human ankle.

2. A fibrous plate that supports and shapes the edge of the eyelid. Also called tarsal plate.

3. Zoology

a. The tarsometatarsus.

b. The distal part of the leg of an arthropod, usually divided into segments.

---

[New Latin, from Greek tarsos, ankle; see ters- in Indo-European roots.]

---

tarsus

Noun

pl -si

1. the bones of the ankle and heel collectively

2. the corresponding part in other mammals and in amphibians and reptiles [Greek tarsos flat surface, instep]

---

tarsus  (tärss)

Plural tarsi (tärs, -s)

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.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

tarsus - the part of the foot of a vertebrate between the metatarsus and the leg; in human beings the bones of the ankle and heel collectively cuboid bone - the cube shaped bone on the outer side of the tarsus tarsal, tarsal bone - any bone of the tarsus pedal extremity, vertebrate foot - the extremity of the limb in vertebrates skeletal structure - any structure created by the skeleton of an organism