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phalanx

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pha⋅lanx

  [fey-langks, fal-angks] noun, plural pha⋅lanx⋅es or, for 7, pha⋅lan⋅ges  [fuh-lan-jeez] , verb
–noun
1. (in ancient Greece) a group of heavily armed infantry formed in ranks and files close and deep, with shields joined and long spears overlapping.
2. any body of troops in close array.
3. a number of individuals, esp. persons united for a common purpose.
4. a compact or closely massed body of persons, animals, or things.
5. Military. (initial capital letter) a radar-controlled U.S. Navy 20mm Gatling-type gun deployed on ships as a last line of defense against antiship cruise missiles.
6. (in Fourierism) a group of about 1800 persons, living together and holding their property in common.
7. Anatomy, Zoology. any of the bones of the fingers or toes.
–verb (used without object)
8. Printing. to arrange the distribution of work in a shop as evenly as possible.
Use phalanx in a Sentence
Origin:
1545–55; < L < Gk phálanx military formation, bone of finger or toe, wooden roller
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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phal·an·ster·y   (fāl'ən-stěr'ē)   
n.   pl. phal·an·ster·ies

    1. A self-sustaining cooperative community of the followers of Fourierism. Also called phalanx.

    2. The buildings in such a community.

  2. An association resembling a Fourierist phalanstery.


[French phalanstère : phalange, phalanx (from Latin phalanx, phalang-; see phalanx) + (mona)stère, monastery (from Late Latin monastērium; see monastery).]
phal'an·ste'ri·an (-stîr'ē-ən) adj. & n., phal'an·ste'ri·an·ism n.
pha·lanx   (fā'lāngks', fāl'āngks')   
n.   pl. pha·lanx·es or pha·lan·ges (fə-lān'jēz, fā-)

  1. A compact or close-knit body of people: "formed a solid phalanx in defense of the Constitution and Protestant religion" (G.M. Trevelyan).

  2. A formation of infantry carrying overlapping shields and long spears, developed by Philip II of Macedon and used by Alexander the Great.

  3. pl. phalanges Anatomy A bone of a finger or toe. Also called phalange.

  4. See phalanstery.


[Latin phalanx, phalang-, from Greek.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

phalanx 
1553, from Gk. phalanx (gen. phalangos) "line of battle, battle array," also "finger or toe bone," originally "round piece of wood, trunk, log," of unknown origin, perhaps from PIE base *bhelg- "plank, beam" (cf. O.E. balca "balk;" see balk). In anatomy, originally the whole row of finger joints, which fit together like infantry in close order. Fig. sense of "number of persons banded together in a common cause" is attested from 1600 (cf. Sp. Falangist, member of a fascist organization founded in 1933).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: pha·lanx
Pronunciation: 'fA-"la[ng](k)s, Brit usu 'fal-"a[ng](k)s
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural pha·lan·ges /f&-'lan-(")jEz, fA-, 'fA-", Brit usu fal-'an-/
: any of the digital bones of the hand or foot distal to the metacarpus or metatarsusof a vertebrate that in humans are three to each finger and toe with the exception of the thumb and big toe which have only two each
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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phalanx pha·lanx (fā'lāngks', fāl'āngks')
n. pl. pha·lanx·es or pha·lan·ges (fə-lān'jēz, fā-)
Any of the long bones of the fingers or toes, numbering 14 for each hand or foot: two for the thumb or big toe, and three each for the other four digits.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Science Dictionary
phalanx   (fā'lāngks')  Pronunciation Key 
Plural phalanges (fə-lān'jēz)
Any of the small bones of the fingers or toes in humans or the digits of many other vertebrates.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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