‖ metatarsus Anat.
(mɛtəˈtɑːsəs)
Pl. metatarsi (-aɪ).
[mod.L.: see meta- and tarsus.]
The group of five long bones of the foot lying between the tarsus and the toes. In birds, the bone which corresponds to tarsus and metatarsus together.
| 1676 Wiseman Surg. vii. ii. 479 The joyning of..the Tarsus to the Metatarsus. 1682 in Phil. Collect. No. 5. 147 Sixty three large Scales, reaching up all along his [sc. the Oestridge's] Foot before, or before those Bones which answer to the Metatarsus. 1879 Wright Anim. Life 7 In the Jerboa, among the rodents, the three middle metatarsi form but a single bone. 1899 A. H. Evans Birds 10 The covering of the metatarsus is usually ‘scutellated’. |
b. Ent. (a) The proximal joint of the tarsus, esp. when much developed. (b) The entire tarsus of the hind foot.
| 1816 Kirby & Sp. Entomol. xv. (ed. 2) I. 494 [The bee] next seizes one of the laminæ of wax with a pincer formed by the posterior metatarsus and tibia. |