Meanings
plural sustentacula · plural sustentaculums
- anatomyA supporting structure, a body part that supports one or more other parts.
While of only moderate size, the sustentaculum is very thick and prominent; its astragalar facet is of irregularly oval shape and nearly plane.
1912, William Berryman Scott, Toxodonta (Reports of the Princeton University Expeditions to Patagonia, 1896-1899), volume 6, page 1711 more example
The ligamentum talocalcaneum mediale lies obliquely on the medial side of the joint, and consists of fibres which extend from the medial posterior tubercle of the talus to the posterior roughened border of the sustentaculum tali.
1818, Daniel John Cunningham, Cunningham's Textbook of Anatomy, page 355
Origin
- Latinsustentaculum
- Englishsustentaculum
From Latin sustentaculum; compare sustentate. Attested since the eighteenth century.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Spanish sustentáculo
- sustentáculoa supporting structure
Cite this entry
sustentaculum. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sustentaculum
“sustentaculum.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sustentaculum. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sustentaculum,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sustentaculum.
Source: sustentaculum on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.