Meanings
plural gastrocnemii
- The muscle at the back of the calf, whose insertion is the Achilles tendon at the heel.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounthe muscle in the back part of the leg that forms the greater part of the calf; responsible for the plantar flexion of the foot
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Ancient Greekγαστροκνημία“calf of the leg”
- New Latingastrocnēmius
- Englishgastrocnemius
1670s, borrowed from New Latin gastrocnēmius, from Ancient Greek γαστροκνημία (gastroknēmía, “calf of the leg”), from γαστήρ (gastḗr, “paunch, belly”) + κνήμη (knḗmē, “leg”).
More words from New Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Basque gastroknemio
- gastroknemiomuscle at the back of the calf
Catalan gastrocnemi
- gastrocnemimuscle at the back of the calf
Chinese Mandarin 腓腸肌 /腓肠肌
- 腓腸肌 /腓肠肌 (féichángjī)muscle at the back of the calf
Dutch gastrocnemius, oppervlakkige kuitspier
- gastrocnemiusmuscle at the back of the calf
- oppervlakkige kuitspiermuscle at the back of the calf
Finnish kaksoiskantalihas
- kaksoiskantalihasmuscle at the back of the calf
French gastrocnémien
- gastrocnémienmuscle at the back of the calf
German Zwillingswadenmuskel
- Zwillingswadenmuskelmuscle at the back of the calf
Greek γαστροκνήμιος
- γαστροκνήμιος (gastroknímios)muscle at the back of the calf
Italian gastrocnemio
- gastrocnemiomuscle at the back of the calf
Japanese 腓腹筋
- 腓腹筋 (hifukukin)muscle at the back of the calf
Latin gastrocnemius
- gastrocnemiusmuscle at the back of the calf
Lithuanian dvilypis raumuo
- dvilypis raumuomuscle at the back of the calf
Polish mięsień brzuchaty łydki
- mięsień brzuchaty łydkimuscle at the back of the calf
Portuguese gastrocnêmio, gastrocnémio
- gastrocnêmiomuscle at the back of the calf
- gastrocnémiomuscle at the back of the calf
Russian икроно́жная мы́шца
- икроно́жная мы́шца (ikronóžnaja mýšca)muscle at the back of the calf
Spanish gastrocnemio
- gastrocnemiomuscle at the back of the calf
Swedish gastrocnemius
- gastrocnemiusmuscle at the back of the calf
Ukrainian литко́вий м'яз
- литко́вий м'яз (lytkóvyj mʺjaz)muscle at the back of the calf
Cite this entry
gastrocnemius. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gastrocnemius
“gastrocnemius.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gastrocnemius. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gastrocnemius,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gastrocnemius.
Source: gastrocnemius on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.