Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The innermost or first digit on the hind foot of certain mammals. The human hallux is commonly called the big toe.
  • noun A homologous digit of a bird, reptile, or amphibian. In birds, it is often directed backward.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The innermost of the five digits which normally compose the hind foot of air-breathing vertebrates; in man, the great toe. See cut under foot.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Anat.) The first, or preaxial, digit of the hind limb, corresponding to the pollux in the fore limb; the great toe; the hind toe of birds.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun anatomy The big toe

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the first largest innermost toe

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Medieval Latin hallux, blend of Latin allus, hallus, thumb, and Latin hallex, big toe.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

New Latin, from Latin allus, hallus.

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Examples

  • "Over time, that insignificant value becomes significant," said Connors, who rattled through an abridged list of Khannouchi's ailments—patellofemoral syndrome, ankle impingement, bone spurs and something called hallux rigidus, which is degenerative arthritis in the big toe.

    The Achy Return of a Running Icon Scott Cacciola 2011

  • The hind toe is called the hallux, and corresponds to the thumb of the human hand, so that in grasping an object it can be made to meet any of the other toes.

    Our Bird Comrades 1896

  • Osteoarthritis of the first metatarsophalangeal joint (MPJ) of the foot, termed hallux limitus, is common and painful.

    BioMed Central - Latest articles 2009

  • We treat disorders and deformities of the foot and ankle as well as clubfoot, vertical talus, hallux valgus, fractures and other trauma.

    Our Services 2010

  • We treat disorders and deformities of the foot and ankle as well as clubfoot, vertical talus, hallux valgus, fractures and other trauma.

    Our Services 2010

  • I never thought I'd pin my life's happiness (at least for the next three weeks) on one man's hallux.

    the Bearcats ate the Retrievers 2009

  • Compared to other hornbills, ground hornbills have elongate tarsometatarsi, and they also have short toes, though strangely with the hallux being the longest of the four (note that this is rarely depicted accurately in artwork).

    Bucorvids: post-Cretaceous maniraptorans on the savannah Darren Naish 2006

  • Its broad feet, prominent and curved claws, large hallux, and palms and soles covered in small tubercles indicated that it was a tree-climbing species.

    Archive 2006-03-01 Darren Naish 2006

  • No primatologist or anthropologist seems to have made anything of this, but I've yet to see anything that would rule out an arboreal leaping stage in (small) hominids that would explain the transition to walking bipedalism (indriids can't do this with their huge divergent hallux, but we grip branches with the instep instead).

    Literally, flying lemurs (and not dermopterans) Darren Naish 2006

  • Compared to other hornbills, ground hornbills have elongate tarsometatarsi, and they also have short toes, though strangely with the hallux being the longest of the four (note that this is rarely depicted accurately in artwork).

    Archive 2006-08-01 Darren Naish 2006

Comments

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  • A veritable bouquet of superlatives, WeirdNet.

    May 13, 2009

  • It's the bestest definition ever.

    May 13, 2009

  • Prime topmost awesomest!

    May 13, 2009

  • Earlier comments were in relation to the Weirdnet definition:

    "the first largest innermost toe".

    May 16, 2012

  • See comments on macrotis.

    May 16, 2012

  • First tweet right now:

    “I will intercourse you so well that the PIP of your first ray will subluxate due to the hyperflexion of the Hallux!”

    May 18, 2012

  • If a girl were to say that to me I'd be hers forever.

    May 21, 2012

  • *sits back and waits for inevitable hallux hyperflexion spam to start rolling in*

    May 21, 2012

  • "n. The innermost of the five digits which normally compose the hind foot of air-breathing vertebrates; in man, the great toe. See cut under foot."

    -- from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

    March 29, 2017

  • Write down this in bold and italics!

    Watch out for the bilby called Alex,

    Using various masks

    For nefarious tasks

    But known by his want of a hallux.

    March 30, 2017

  • See allex.

    March 30, 2017

  • hallux schmallux

    March 30, 2017