Medicine & BodyGreek → English
Gastrocnemius
/ˌɡæstrɒkˈniːmiəs/noun
The large two-headed calf muscle that lifts the heel.
The Greek roots
γαστήρ
gastḗr
belly, stomach
κνήμη
knḗmē
lower leg, shin
Literally: “belly of the leg”
The story of the word
Greek anatomists called the calf γαστροκνημία, the belly of the leg, because the muscle bulges out like a paunch. Latin medicine took the word whole and never trimmed it. It is the muscle that tears when a sprinter pulls up short, and the one a bike saddle set too low never fully uses.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → English
- First recorded
- 17th century
Same family
gastricgastronomygastritis
In a sentence
The scan showed a small tear at the head of the gastrocnemius.