astragalus

2 definitions found

astragalus - 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]

astragalus - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  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]