caltrop

English

WOTD – 31 January 2011

Etymology

From Middle English calketrappe, from Old English calcatrippe, from Medieval Latin calcatrippa (“thistle”), from Latin calx or calcare + trappa.

Pronunciation

  • (General American) enPR: kăl'trəp, IPA(key): /ˈkæltɹəp/
  • Audio (US):(file)
    • Rhymes: -æltɹəp
  • (UK) enPR: kăl'trəp, kôl'trəp, IPA(key): /ˈkaltɹəp/, /ˈkɔːltɹəp/
  • Audio (Southern England):(file)
    • Rhymes: -æltɹəp, -ɔːltɹəp

Noun

caltrop (plural caltrops)

  2. (weaponry) A metal object, usually small, with spikes arranged so that, when thrown onto the ground, one always faces up as a threat to pedestrians, horses, and vehicles (also used as a heraldic charge).
    Alternative forms: caltrap, calthrop; galtrop, galthrap, galtrap, galthrop
    Synonyms: crow's foot, crowfoot, jackrock, cheval trap
    Hypernyms: weaponry, weapon
    Coordinate terms: Czech hedgehog (conceptually similar; large); punji, punji stick; spike strip
    • 1858, The journal of the British Archaeological Association:
      […] her father, the emperor Alexius, who reigned AD 1081-1118, ordered caltrops to be cast in front of his archers […]
    • 1954, Joseph Needham, Ling Wang, Science and civilisation in China:
      By Sung times, several different types of caltrops had been developed. As in earlier times, both caltrops could be made from both wood and iron...
    • 2000, Alan Vick, Aerospace operations in urban environments: exploring new concepts:
      Caltrops, tetrahedrons, and similar devices are designed to puncture vehicle tires or limit foot traffic. The standard design has four points.
  4. (colloquial) The starthistle, Centaurea calcitrapa, a plant with sharp thorns.
    Synonym: knapweed
  6. Any of a number of flowering plants in the family Zygophyllaceae, including several members of the genus Kallstroemia and the species Tribulus terrestris, native to warm temperate and tropical regions.
    Hyponyms: (Tribulus terrestris) puncturevine, cat's head, yellow vine, goathead, burra, gokharu, bindii

Derived terms

Translations

See also

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