caltrop
/ˈkaltɹəp//ˈkæltɹəp/
caltrop noun: 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).
Noun
caltrop (plural caltrops)
- 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).
- […] her father, the emperor Alexius, who reigned AD 1081-1118, ordered caltrops to be cast in front of his archers […]1858, The journal of the British Archaeological Association
- 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...1954, Joseph Needham, Ling Wang, Science and civilisation in China
- Synonyms:
- crow's foot, crowfoot, jackrock, cheval trap
- The starthistle, Centaurea calcitrapa, a plant with sharp thorns.
- Synonyms:
- knapweed
- 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.
caltrop meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Arabic and Persian
caltrop in Tamil
- Tribulus terrestris
- நெருஞ்சி neruñci, நெருஞ்சில் neruñcil, கிட்டிரம் kiṭṭiram
caltrop in Urdu
- سنگھاڑا
caltrop in Arabic
- weaponry
- حَسَك ḥasak
- Tribulus terrestris
- حَسَك ḥasak
caltrop in Persian
- Tribulus terrestris
- خارخاسک xâr-xâsak
More languagesFewer languages
- caltrop in Thai
- ขวาก kwàak
- caltrop in Vietnamese
- chông sắt
Synonyms of caltrop
- crow's foot
- crowfoot
- jackrock
- cheval trap
- knapweed
Forms of caltrop
| plural | caltrops |
|---|
Origin of caltrop
From Middle English calketrappe, from Old English calcatrippe, from Medieval Latin calcatrippa (“thistle”), from Latin calx or calcare (“to tread”) + trappa (“trap”).
Words formed from caltrop
Questions about caltrop
- What does caltrop mean?
- Caltrop means 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).
- What is caltrop in Tamil?
- Caltrop in Tamil is நெருஞ்சி (neruñci), நெருஞ்சில் (neruñcil), கிட்டிரம் (kiṭṭiram). See Caltrop meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is caltrop?
- Caltrop is a noun.
- How do you pronounce caltrop?
- Caltrop is pronounced /ˈkæltɹəp/ (US).
- What is the plural of caltrop?
- The plural of caltrop is caltrops.
Words near caltrop in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: caltrop (page history and authors); caltrop (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Wodencafe-caltrop.wav, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-caltrop.wav.
Cite this entry: “caltrop.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/caltrop. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.