caltrop

English

WOTD – 31 January 2011

A caltrop used in the Vietnam War

The coat of arms of Boulaide, Luxembourg, featuring caltrops

Centaurea calcitrapa

Tribulus terrestris

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

• water caltrop

Translations

weaponry

• Albanian: please add this translation if you can
• Arabic: حَسَك m (ḥasak)
• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Belarusian: кальчатка (kalʹčatka), чычак (čyčak), драцяны вожык (dracjany vóžyk)
• Catalan: obriülls (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 蒺藜 (zh) (jílí)

• Dutch: voetangel (nl) m, kraaienpoot (nl) m
• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: jalkapiikki, kavioansa
• French: chausse-trape (fr), pied de corbeau
• Galician: abrollo (gl) m
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: Krähenfuß (de) m, Fußangel f
• Greek:

  Ancient: τρίβολος m (tríbolos)

• Hungarian: vassulyom, lábtövis
• 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: mūrex m, tribulus m
• Macedonian: please add this translation if you can
• Middle English: calketrappe
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Ottoman Turkish: طوكوز آیاغی (doñuz ayağı)
• Polish: kolczatka (pl) f
• 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)
• Swedish: fotangel (sv) c
• Thai: ขวาก (th) (kwàak)
• Turkish: demir dikeni (tr)
• Ukrainian: please add this translation if you can
• Vietnamese: chông sắt

starthistle

• Bulgarian: бодлива метличина (bodliva metličina)
• Catalan: obriülls (ca) m, cagatripa f, card vermell m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 紫星薊 / 紫星蓟 (zǐxīngjì)

• Dutch: kalketrip (nl) c
• Finnish: piikkikaunokki
• French: centaurée chausse-trape (fr), chardon étoilé (fr)
• Hungarian: úti imola
• Middle English: calketrappe
• Polish: chaber kolący m
• Portuguese: abrolho (pt) m
• Russian: василёк колючеголо́вый m (vasiljók koljučegolóvyj)
• Spanish: encojaperros, garbanzo del cura

Tribulus terrestris

• Arabic: حَسَك m (ḥasak)
• Armenian: տատաշ (hy) (tataš)

  Old Armenian: տատասկ (tatask)

• Azerbaijani: dəmirtikan
• Bulgarian: бабини зъби (babini zǎbi)
• Catalan: tríbol m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 蒺藜 (zh) (jílí)

• Finnish: okarennokki (fi)
• French: tribule terrestre (fr)
• Galician: abrollo (gl) m
• Georgian: კუროსთავი (ḳurostavi), ტატაში (ṭaṭaši)
• Hungarian: királydinnye (hu)
• Italian: tribulo comune
• Japanese: ハマビシ (hamabishi)
• Kabardian: жьэныпэуц (źɛnəpɛwuc)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: xencere

• Latin: tribulus m
• Macedonian: ба́бин за́б m (bábin záb)
• Navajo: shash nátʼoh
• Ottoman Turkish: طوكوز آیاغی (doñuz ayağı)
• Persian: خارخاسک (xâr-xâsak)
• Polish: buzdyganek naziemny m
• Portuguese: abrolho (pt) m
• Romanian: colții-babei (ro) m
• Russian: я́корец сте́лющийся m (jákorec stéljuščijsja), я́корец назе́мный m (jákorec nazémnyj)
• Spanish: abrojo terrestre, cadillo, cuerno de chivo, tribulo, cruz maltesa
• Tamil: நெருஞ்சி (ta) (neruñci), நெருஞ்சில் (ta) (neruñcil), கிட்டிரம் (kiṭṭiram)
• Turkish: çobançökerten, demir dikeni (tr)

See also

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