Astragale

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of anatomical structure in the ankle joint found in various animals that facilitates movement and weight-bearing
2. A specific bone, also known as the talus, that connects the leg and foot, being crucial in the function of the foot's architecture
3. An architectural element resembling an ankle's bone, often used in classical designs to provide visual support and ornamentation

Etymology: In ancient Greek, "astragalos" meant the knucklebone, the small, rounded bone at the ankle joint. Because these bones were easy to collect and had four flattish sides, they were widely used as game pieces and dice, and the Greeks and Romans played games with them. The anatomical sense comes from that resemblance: the ankle bone was named after the object people threw in games. Latin borrowed the Greek term as "astragalus," and it became the learned name for the bone, alongside the older Latin word "talus," which also meant ankle bone. Anatomists kept both, and "astragal" and its variants passed into French and English. The French-style spelling "astragale" is the form used in your entry, and it refers to the same bone that English anatomy more often calls the talus. Because the word carried the knucklebone meaning, a separate architectural term, the "astragal" moulding, came from the same Greek source, named for its resemblance to a bead or knobbed bone.

Synonyms: ankle bone, talus