Uniped

Uniped

The term uniped (from Latin "uni" = one + "ped" = foot) refers to a person or creature with only one foot and one leg, as contrasted with a biped (two legs) and a quadruped (four legs). Moving using only one leg is know as unipedal movement.

The number of locomotory appendages varies much between animals, and sometimes the same animal may use different numbers of its legs in different circumstances. The best contender for unipedal movement is the springtail, which while typically hexapedal, hurls itself away from danger using its furcula, a tail-like forked rod that can be rapidly unfurled from the underside of its body.

In fiction and mythology

In the Saga of Eric the Red, a native of Vinland who is described as being one-legged kills one of Eric's men. In the children's fiction book "They Came on Viking Ships" by Jackie French, a uniped is a one-legged Norse mythical creature that lived in the south of Vinland during the time of the expedition of Freydís Eiríksdóttir.

The sciapod was another mythical one-legged humanoid.

There are also one legged creatures in "". In "The Adventures of Gomby and Son", Gomby meets a traveller at the Forest of Zann who is unileg.


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Uniped — U ni*ped, a. [Uni + L. pes, pedis, foot.] Having only one foot. Wright. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • uniped — noun A person or creature with only one foot or leg See Also: unipedal …   Wiktionary

  • uniped — uni·ped …   English syllables

  • uniped — /ˈjunipɛd/ (say yoohneeped) adjective 1. having a single foot; one footed; one legged. –noun 2. a person, animal, or thing having only one foot or leg. {uni + ped} …  

  • uniped — n. & adj. n. a person having only one foot or leg. adj. one footed, one legged. Etymology: UNI + pes pedis foot …   Useful english dictionary

  • Unipedalism — The term uniped (from Latin uni = one + ped = foot) refers to a person or creature with only one foot and one leg, as contrasted with a biped (two legs) and a quadruped (four legs). Moving using only one leg is known as unipedal movement. There… …   Wikipedia

  • Bipedalism — Bipedality redirects here. For the film, see Bipedality (film). An ostrich, one of the fastest of living bipeds …   Wikipedia

  • Running — Runner redirects here. For other uses, see Runner (disambiguation). This article is about the type of locomotion in humans. For running in horses, see Horse gait. For locomotion in dogs, see Gait (dog). For general locomotion, see Gait. For other …   Wikipedia

  • Saga of Erik the Red — Eiríks saga rauða or the Saga of Erik the Red is a saga on the Norse exploration of North America.In the saga, the events that led to Erik the Red s banishment to Greenland are chronicled, as well as Leif Ericson s discovery of Vinland the Good,… …   Wikipedia

  • Gait (human) — This article is about the physical exercise. For other uses, see here. Humans using a running gait. Note the suspended phase in which neither foot touches the ground. Human gait is the way locomotion is achieved using human limbs. Different gaits …   Wikipedia

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