Standard Lemma guide

metatarsus

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • /ˌmɛtəˈtɑː(ɹ)səs/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɑː(ɹ)səs

1

noun

Meaning 1

The part of the foot between the toes and the ankle, especially its five bones.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: instep

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

the skeleton of the human foot between the toes and the tarsus; the corresponding part of the foot in birds or of the hind foot in quadrupeds

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: skeletal structure

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Latin meta- Latin tarsus Latin metatarsusbor. English metatarsus Borrowed from Latin metatarsus.

Across languages

Translations

25 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: مُشْط اَلْقَدَم (mušṭ al-qadam) — part of the foot between the toes and the ankle
  • Arabic: مشط الرجل (meshṭ el-regl) — part of the foot between the toes and the ankle
  • Bulgarian: костите на стъпалото (kostite na stǎpaloto) — part of the foot between the toes and the ankle
  • Catalan: metatars — part of the foot between the toes and the ankle
  • Czech: nárt — part of the foot between the toes and the ankle
  • Esperanto: metatarso — part of the foot between the toes and the ankle
  • Estonian: jalalaba — part of the foot between the toes and the ankle
  • Estonian: pöid — part of the foot between the toes and the ankle
  • Finnish: jalkapöydän luut — part of the foot between the toes and the ankle
  • Finnish: jalkapöytä — part of the foot between the toes and the ankle
  • French: métatarse — part of the foot between the toes and the ankle
  • German: Mittelfuß — part of the foot between the toes and the ankle
  • Hungarian: lábközép — part of the foot between the toes and the ankle
  • Italian: metatarso — part of the foot between the toes and the ankle
  • Latin: metatarsus — part of the foot between the toes and the ankle
  • Polish: śródstopie — part of the foot between the toes and the ankle
  • Portuguese: metatarso — part of the foot between the toes and the ankle
  • Russian: плюсна́ (pljusná) — part of the foot between the toes and the ankle
  • Slovak: predpriehlavok — part of the foot between the toes and the ankle
  • Slovene: stopalnica — part of the foot between the toes and the ankle
  • Spanish: metatarso — part of the foot between the toes and the ankle
  • Swedish: mellanfot — part of the foot between the toes and the ankle
  • Ottoman Turkish: آیاق طراغی (ayak tarağı) — part of the foot between the toes and the ankle
  • Ukrainian: пле́сно (plésno) — part of the foot between the toes and the ankle
  • Ukrainian: плю́сно (pljúsno) — part of the foot between the toes and the ankle