caltrop

English

A caltrop used in the Vietnam war

The coat of arms of Boulaide, Luxembourg, featuring caltrops

Centaurea calcitrapa

Tribulus terrestris

Alternative forms

• caltrap

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (US) enPR: kăl'trəp, IPA^(key): /ˈkæltɹəp/
  • Rhymes: -æltɹəp
• (UK) enPR: kôl'trəp, IPA^(key): /ˈkɔːltɹəp/
  • Rhymes: -ɔːltɹəp

Noun

caltrop (plural caltrops)

1. (weaponry) A small, metal object with spikes arranged so that, when thrown onto the ground, one always faces up as a threat to pedestrians, horses, and vehicles.
   • 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.

2. (heraldry) The same object represented as a heraldic charge.
3. (colloquial) The starthistle, Centaurea calcitrapa, a plant with sharp thorns.
4. 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.

Synonyms

• (weaponry): caltrap, galtrop, cheval trap, galthrap, galtrap, calthrop, crow’s foot
• (starthistle):
• (Tribulus terrestris): puncturevine, cat's head, yellow vine, goathead, burra, gokharu, bindii.

Derived terms

• caltrop family (Zygophyllaceae)

Translations

weaponry

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 蒺藜 (zh) (jílí)

• Dutch: voetangel m, kraaienpoot (nl) m
• Finnish: jalkapiikki, kavioansa
• French: chausse-trape (fr), pied de corbeau
• German: Krähenfuß (de) m
• Irish: grán catha m
• Italian: tribolo (it) m, piede di corvo (it) m
• Japanese: 鉄菱 (てつびし, tetsubishi)

• Korean: 마름쇠 (mareumsoe)
• Latin: murex m
• Portuguese: abrolho (pt) m, estrepe (pt) m, miguelito (modern)
• Russian: чесно́к (ru) m (česnók) ("garlic"), про́волочный ёж m (próvoločnyj jož)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Roman: vranina nòga f

• Spanish: abrojo (es)
• Thai: ขวาก (th) (kwàak)

starthistle

• Bulgarian: бабини зъби (babini zǎbi)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 紫星薊 (zh) (zĭxīngjì)

• Dutch: kalketrip (nl) c
• Finnish: piikkikaunokki

• French: centaurée chausse-trape (fr), chardon étoilé (fr)
• Portuguese: abrolho (pt) m
• Russian: василёк колючеголо́вый m (vasiljók koljučegolóvyj)
• Spanish: trapacaballos encarnado, encojaperros, garbanzo del cura

Tribulus terrestris

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 蒺藜 (zh) (jílí)

• Finnish: okarennokki (fi)
• French: tribule terrestre (fr)
• Italian: tribulo comune

• Navajo: shash nátʼoh
• Portuguese: abrolho (pt) m
• Romanian: colții-babei (ro) m
• Russian: please add this translation if you can
• Spanish: abrojo terrestre, cadillo, cuerno de chivo, tribulo, cruz maltesa

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Latin: ^{(please verify)} murex m

See also

• caltrop on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Centaurea calcitrapa on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Kallstroemia on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Tribulus terrestris on Wikipedia.Wikipedia