Pha"lanx (?), n.;
pl. Phalanxes (#), L.
Phalanges (#). [L., from Gr. &?;.]
1. (Gr. Antiq.) A body of heavy-armed infantry formed in ranks and files close and deep. There were several different arrangements, the phalanx varying in depth from
four to twenty-five or more ranks of
men. "In cubic phalanx firm advanced."
Milton.
The Grecian phalanx, moveless as a
tower.
Pope. 2. Any body of
troops or men formed in close array, or any combination of people distinguished for firmness and solidity of a union.
At
present they formed a united phalanx.
Macaulay.
The sheep recumbent, and the sheep that grazed,
All huddling into phalanx, stood and gazed.
Cowper. 3. A
Fourierite community; a phalanstery.
4.
(Anat.) One of the digital bones of the hand or foot, beyond the metacarpus or metatarsus; an internode.
5.
[pl. Phalanges.] (Bot.) A group or bundle of stamens, as in polyadelphous flowers.
Hear it pronounced