The fibula is the thinner of the two long bones in your lower leg, running alongside the shinbone. It helps support the ankle and muscles but doesn’t carry as much weight as the main shinbone.
It comes from Latin “fibula,” meaning “clasp” or “brooch,” which was a pin used to fasten clothing. The bone was named this because it was thought to resemble a clasp lying next to the main leg bone.
Your leg bone is named after an ancient safety pin, which shows how doctors used everyday objects to label body parts. The thicker bone is the tibia, and the fibula is like a slender clip attached beside it.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.