Tarsi

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A group of small bones located in the ankle region that provide structure and flexibility to the foot
2. Referring to the part of an insect's leg that is comprised of multiple segments and aids in movement
3. A term used in various contexts including anatomy and entomology to describe similar structures in different organisms

Etymology: "Tarsi" is the plural of "tarsus", and the singular is the older word. In ancient Greek, "tarsos" meant a flat surface or a flat basket, the kind used for drying figs or other food in the sun. That sense of a flat, woven or pressed plate is the key to the later anatomical use. Scholars who wrote in New Latin, the scientific Latin of the early modern period, borrowed the Greek word as "tarsus" and applied it to the thin, flat plate of tissue that gives shape to the eyelid. From there the term spread to the ankle-to-toes section of the foot, and to the flat, jointed segments at the ends of insect legs. Because the same structure name was applied across very different bodies, "tarsi" is the plural used when comparing those parts across animals.

Synonyms: ankles, feet, limbs, extremities, appendages