[syn: anklebone, astragal, astragalus, talus]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Astragalus \As*trag"a*lus\, n. [L. See Astragal.]
1. (Anat.) The ankle bone, or hock bone; the bone of the
tarsus which articulates with the tibia at the ankle.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Bot.) A genus of papilionaceous plants, of the tribe
Galege[ae], containing numerous species, two of which
are called, in English, milk vetch and licorice vetch.
Gum tragacanth is obtained from different oriental
species, particularly the Astragalus gummifer and
Astragalus verus.
[1913 Webster]
3. (Arch.) See Astragal, 1.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
Astragalus
n 1: large genus of annual or perennial herbs or shrubs of north
temperate regions; largest genus in the family Leguminosae
[syn: Astragalus, genus Astragalus]
2: the bone in the ankle that articulates with the leg bones to
form the ankle joint [syn: anklebone, astragal,
astragalus, talus]