Plural of caltrap; sharp four-pronged devices scattered on ground to puncture tires or injure feet, or the spiky plant that produces similar shapes.
From Middle English 'caltrap,' combining 'calt' (possibly from Latin 'calx' meaning heel) and 'trap.' The word originally described both the military weapon and the naturally occurring spiked plant genus Tribulus, which has seed pods resembling the weapon.
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