Calx

[Maroseika]

This Latin word means heel and lime.
Any idea - why?

 

[Wynn Mathieson]

Latin calx (calci-, calc-, calcane-, calcio-, calco-, calcar-) = a (limestone) pebble and, by analogy, the pebble-shaped heel-bone of the tarsus.

(The Latin word is from the Greek khalix.)

See also:

calculate (count, originally by using pebbles)
recalcitrant (kicking back)
inculcate (< incalcare: tread in)
Italian calcio (= football)

Wynn

 

[Maroseika]

Thank you very much for explanation, Wynn.
By the way, do you know any on-line Latin etymology resource?

 

[Whodunit]

Thank you very much for explanation, Wynn.
By the way, do you know any on-line Latin etymology resource?

You might find something useful here (along with a quite long description where the word appears) or here.

 

[Wynn Mathieson]

Well, I tend to use a diversity of sources, but I was going to suggest -- before he beat me to it! -- that Whodunit's second suggestion above (the Indo-European etymology site) can be quite good fun to play around with.

Wynn