Talus, tali, m. g. Plin. The anckle aboue the foote.Purpura vsque ad talos demissa. Ci. Vestigia tingit in vndis talo tenus. Ou. He putteth his foote in the water vp to the anckle. Talus. Plin. The pasterne bone of a beast. Talus.Cic.An huckle bene: a die.Iactus talorum.Ouid.Admouere talos, Vide ADMOVEO.Iacere talos, Vide IACIO.Iactare talos, Vide iacto in IACIO.Ludere talis.Cic. Mittere talos, Vide MITTO. Regna sortiri talis. Hor. Recto talo stare. Hor.
Lewis and Short: Latin dictionary
tālus, i, m. [from tax-lus; root tak-, tvak-; cf. Gr. ta/ssw, whence taxus; cf. taxillus], the ankle, ankle-bone; of animals, the pastern-bone, knuckle-bone (syn. calx). I.Lit., Ov. M. 4, 343; Cels. 8, 1 fin.; 8, 7fin.; 8, 22; Plin. 11, 46, 106, 253; Ov. M. 8, 808: talum expellere,
to dislocate
, Mart. 8, 75, 3: extorsisse, Sen. Ben. 5, 24, 1.—II.Transf.A.The heel: purpura ad talos demissa, Cic. Clu. 40, 111; Hor. S. 1, 2, 29 and 99; cf. id. ib. 1, 9, 11: talos a vertice pulcher ad imos, id. Ep. 2, 2, 4: summaque vix talos contigit unda meos, Ov. Am. 3, 6, 6: nudus, Juv. 7, 16.—Poet.: securus, cadat an recto stet fabula talo, whether it stands or falls, i. e. whether it succeeds or fails, Hor. Ep. 2, 1, 176; cf.: tibi recto vivere talo Ars dedit, i. e. to act well, conduct one's self well, Pers. 5, 104.—B.A die (orig. made from the knuckle-bones of certain animals) of an oblong shape, rounded at the ends, and marked only on the other four sides (cf. alea); while the tesserae were cubes, and marked on all six sides. Four tali were used in playing, but only three tesserae: ad pilam se aut ad talos se aut ad tesseras conferunt, Cic. de Or. 3, 15, 58; id. Sen. 16, 58; Plaut. Curc. 2, 3, 75; 2, 3, 79; id. Capt. 1, 1, 5; Cic. Div. 1, 13, 23; 2, 21, 48; id. Fin. 3, 16, 54; Aug. ap. Suet. Aug. 71; Prop. 4 (5), 8, 45; Hor. C. 1, 4, 18; id. S. 2, 3, 171; 2, 7, 17; cf. Becker, Gallus, 3, p. 253 sq.