Taluses

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An anatomical or structural term referring to a rock formation or an area where talus, comprised of loose stones or debris, accumulates in a slope or beneath cliffs
2. A geological feature characterized by material from rockfalls or landslides, often forming a cone-shaped deposit at the base of steep cliffs
3. In botany, can refer to the lower section of certain plant structures associated with the growth or arrangement of the plants in a rocky environment

Etymology: The plural of "talus", which has two senses in English: the slope of loose debris at the foot of a cliff, and the ankle bone that sits on top of the heel bone. The two meanings look unrelated, but both come from the same Latin word, "tālus", which meant "ankle" or "ankle bone" (and was used for the knucklebone used in games of chance). Geologists borrowed the word from French "talus", where it meant "slope" or "embankment", and applied it to the sloping heap of fallen rock beneath a cliff. In English the geological sense is the one that appears in discussions of rock formations, while the anatomical sense remains in medical writing.

Synonyms: scree, debris slope, rock pile, slope, heap