Pastern

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈpæstən/

Definitions

1. A section of a horse's leg between the fetlock and the hoof, consisting of two bones that connect the lower leg to the foot
2. A part of a horse's limb that lies between the fetlock joint and the hoof, formed by two bones that link the lower leg to the foot
3. This anatomical region in equines is situated between the fetlock and the hoof, comprising two bones that connect to the foot

Etymology: The most surprising thing about "pastern" is that it began as the name of a fetter, not a body part. Its ancestor in Old French, "pasturon," was a diminutive of "pasture," and it meant a shackle used to hobble a horse so it could graze without wandering off. The sense of the tether was the original one, and the anatomy came later. The path from that Old French tool to the English word ran through Middle English forms such as "pastron" and "pasturne." Over time the meaning moved from the shackle to the part of the leg it sat against, the short sloping segment between the fetlock joint and the hoof. The shift makes physical sense: the hobble rested on that region of the animal's leg. The French word itself was an alteration of Late Latin "pastoria," with the ending reshaped by the suffix "-ure," which gives the modern English spelling its unexpected final "-ern."