Hamstrings

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The group of tendons in the posterior thigh connects leg muscles to bones, enabling knee flexion and hip extension while supporting movement and balance
2. Located in the back of the thigh, these tendons link muscles to skeletal structures, allowing for knee bending and hip extension, essential for activities like walking and maintaining posture
3. The tendons found on the rear thigh that join muscles to bones and aid in bending the knee and extending the hip ; to cause difficulty or prevent progress by limiting motion or ability

Etymology: "Hamstrings" is the plural of "hamstring," a compound of "ham," meaning the back of the knee joint, and "string," meaning a tendon or cord. The name is literal: the tendons behind the knee were seen as cords running through the region known as the ham. Used as a verb, "hamstring" means to cripple by cutting these tendons, and its sense of crippling a plan or effort grew out of that physical act. "Ham" in this sense is an older English word for the hollow behind the knee, which is also the source of the everyday meaning of ham as a cut of meat from the back of the leg of a pig. The two are linked through that shared anatomical location, and the body-part sense is the earlier one.

Synonyms: muscles, tendons