trochanter

File:Replica of Athenian trireme (trieres). Athens War Museum.jpg

The anatomical term trochanter (the bony protrusions on the femur) derives from the Greek τροχαντήρ (trochantḗr).{{Citation |title=τροχαντήρ |date=2020-11-13 |work=Wiktionary, the free dictionary |url=https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%CF%84%CF%81%CE%BF%CF%87%CE%B1%CE%BD%CF%84%CE%AE%CF%81#Ancient_Greek |access-date=2025-01-30 |language=en}} This Greek word itself is generally broken down into:

• τροχάζω (trokházō), meaning “to run quickly,” “to gallop,” or “to move rapidly.”
• -τήρ (-tḗr), a suffix in Greek that often signifies an agent or instrument (“one who [does something]” or “that which [does something]”).

While the exact origin of the anatomical term trochanter is uncertain, multiple possible connections could be suggested. One possibility is that the term was derived directly from the Greek roots without influence from the maritime meaning, with the name referencing the trochanter’s role in enabling swift movement through muscle attachment. Alternatively, the term may have been influenced by the Greek τροχαντήρ (trochantḗr), which referred to the protrusions on the stern of triremes that served as attachment points for ropes and sails. In a similar manner, the anatomical trochanters are prominent bony projections that serve as key attachment sites for muscles. Later usage came to include the femoral neck.{{Cite book |vauthors=O'Rahilly R, Müller F, Carpenter S, Swenson R|year=2004 |others=Rand Swenson, site ed. |title=Basic Human Anatomy: A Regional Study of Human Structure |url=http://www.dartmouth.edu/~humananatomy/ |chapter=Etymology of Abdominal Visceral Terms |chapter-url=https://www.dartmouth.edu/~humananatomy/resources/etymology/Lower_limb.htm |publisher=Dartmouth Medical School}}

In human anatomy, the trochanter is a part of the femur. It can refer to:

• Greater trochanter
• Lesser trochanter
• Third trochanter, which is occasionally present

• Fourth trochanter, of archosaur leg bones
• Trochanter (arthropod leg), a segment of the arthropod leg

• Intertrochanteric crest
• Intertrochanteric line

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{{Bones of lower extremity}}

Trochanter