Definition

1. Noun:
   • A body of troops in close array: A military formation of infantry standing or moving in close, deep ranks, historically used by ancient Greek armies.
   • Any closely ranked crowd of people: A dense group of people or things massed together for a common purpose or moving as a body.
   • Any of the bones of the fingers or toes: In anatomy, one of the small, long bones that form the skeleton of the digits (fingers and toes).

Examples of Usage

• Noun (Military Formation):
  • The Greek phalanx advanced across the plain, a wall of shields and spears.
  • The general arranged his soldiers into a tight phalanx to defend the pass.
• Noun (Group of People):
  • A phalanx of reporters waited outside the courthouse.
  • A solid phalanx of supporters blocked the entrance to the hall.
• Noun (Anatomy):
  • He fractured the distal phalanx of his thumb.
  • Each finger, except the thumb, has three phalanges.

Advanced Usage

• "Phalanx of": Used to describe a large, organized, and often imposing group.
  • The company was met by a phalanx of lawyers.
• Historical/Technical Context: The term is often used in historical writing about ancient warfare or in specialized medical/biological texts.

Variants and Related Words

• Phalanges (n): The plural form, especially common in anatomical contexts (e.g., the bones of the fingers and toes).
• Phalangeal (adj): Pertaining to a phalanx or phalanges (e.g., phalangeal joints).

Synonyms

• Military: Formation, battalion, legion, column.
• Group: Mass, throng, crowd, bloc, array.
• Anatomy: Digital bone, finger bone, toe bone.

Related Idioms or Phrases

• "A human phalanx": A metaphor for a very dense and united group of people acting as one.
  • The protesters linked arms, forming a human phalanx against the police.

Noun

1. a body of troops in close array
2. any closely ranked crowd of people
3. any of the bones of the fingers or toes