Calcaneus
/kælˈkeɪ.ni.əs/noun
The calcaneus is the heel bone, the largest bone in the foot.
Did you know?Calcaneus comes from Latin calcaneus, meaning “of the heel,” built from calx, “heel,” a root that also survives in words like “calcaneal” and the older medical language of anatomy.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*kal-
“to be hard; the hard part of the foot/heel area”
Latin
Latin
calx
“heel”
Latin
Latin
calcaneus
“of the heel; heel bone”
Late Latin
Latin
calcaneum
“heel bone”
Modern English
English
calcaneus
“the heel bone”