fibula

noun

Etymology: Borrowed from Latin fībula (“buckle, clasp, pin”). The bone is so named because the shape it makes with the tibia resembles a clasp, the fibula being the pin.

1. An ancient kind of brooch used to hold clothing together, similar in function to the modern safety pin.

   “Most of the fibulae have a triangular molding above the notch, which probably contained wound wire. The crossbar is decorated either with a flat knob or with a Persian merlon.”

2. The smaller of the two bones in the lower leg.