Definitions for pasternˈpæs tərn

This page provides all possible meanings and translations of the word pastern

Princeton's WordNet

  1. pastern, fetter bone(noun)

    the part between the fetlock and the hoof


  1. pastern(Noun)

    The area on a horse's leg between the fetlock joint and the hoof.

  2. Origin: From pasturon (French pâturon), from pasture ‘shackle’ (from pastoria ‘shackle for pastured animal's foot’) + diminutive suffix.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Pastern(noun)


  2. Pastern(noun)

    a shackle for horses while pasturing

  3. Pastern(noun)

    a patten

  4. Origin: [Of. pasturon, F. pturon, fr. OF. pasture a tether, for beasts while pasturing; prop., a pasturing. See Pasture.]


  1. Pastern

    The pastern is a part of the leg of a horse between the fetlock and the top of the hoof. It incorporates the long pastern bone and the short pastern bone, which are held together by two sets of paired ligaments to form the pastern joint. Anatomically homologous to the two largest bones found in the human finger, the pastern was famously mis-defined by Samuel Johnson in his dictionary as "the knee of a horse". When a lady asked Johnson how he came to do so, he gave the much-quoted reply: "Ignorance, madam, pure ignorance."

Anagrams of pastern »

  1. arpents, entraps, Napster, panters, parents, trepans

Translations for pastern

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