phalanx

views updated May 21 2018

pha·lanx / ˈfālangks; ˈfal-/ • n. 1. (pl. pha·lanx·es) a group of people or things of a similar type forming a compact body or brought together for a common purpose: he headed past the phalanx of waiting reporters to the line of limos. ∎  a body of troops or police officers, standing or moving in close formation: six hundred marchers set off, led by a phalanx of police. ∎  (in ancient Greece) a body of Macedonian infantry with long spears, drawn up in close order with shields overlapping.2. (pl. pha·lan·ges / fəˈlanjēz; fāˈlanjēz/ ) Anat. a bone of the finger or toe.

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

Phalanx

views updated Jun 08 2018

Phalanx

a line or array of battle; a compact group of people or animals prepared for attack or defence; a body of persons or things drawn up together in a common purpose.

Examples : phalanx of cavaliers and dames, 1837; of elms, 1891; of Greeks, 1983; of infantry; of lawyers, 1817; of sheep, 1785; of soldiers, 1553; of migrating storks, 1733.

Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms

phalanx

views updated Jun 11 2018

phalanx (in ancient Greece) a body of Macedonian infantry drawn up in close order with shields touching and long spears overlapping.

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable ELIZABETH KNOWLES

phalanx

views updated May 18 2018

phalanx line of battle XVI; (anat.) joint of a digit XVII; (bot.) bundle of stamens XVIII. — L. — Gr. phálagx.
So phalange XVI. — F. — L.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD

phalanx

views updated May 29 2018

phalanx (fal-anks) n. see phalanges.

A Dictionary of Nursing

phalanx

views updated May 18 2018

phalanx See PHALANGE.

A Dictionary of Zoology MICHAEL ALLABY

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