halffooted

Halffooted is an adjective used in speculative biology and some historical paleontological writings to describe a locomotor pattern or anatomical condition in which the posterior portion of the foot is reduced or the contact with the ground is limited to approximately half of the foot, producing a stance that is intermediate between plantigrade and digitigrade. The term is derived from half + foot, and not a standard clinical term.

In anatomy and functional morphology, halffooted might describe a hypothetical or observed feature where only part of the sole adheres to the substrate, or where a limb has a digital arrangement that makes the rear half of the foot non-weight-bearing. In paleontology, researchers may use the term to characterize trackways suggesting partial foot contact, but it is largely historical or speculative and not widely adopted in current discourse.

In culture and fiction, halffooted has been used to describe creatures with partial footlike structures or prosthetic adaptations, as a stylistic device in worldbuilding. The term is sometimes used to evoke a sense of partial mobility or unusual locomotion.

See also plantigrade, digitigrade, unguligrade, gait, locomotion, paleontology.