phalanstery

[Fr. phalanstère, from Gr. phalangx =a phalanx (q. v.).] cording to the system of Fourier. (FOURIERISM.] 1. A community of persons living together ac "A phalanstery of all the friends."-C. Kingsley: Alton Locke , ch. viii. 2. The building occupied as a dwelling by phalansterians. phălănx, phā-lănx ( pl . *pha-lăn-gēs, phălǎnx-eş, or phā-lănx-ēş), s. [Latin, from Greek phalangr =a line of battle, a battalion; Sp.falanje ; Ital.falange .] IMG:content-0966.png:[blocks in formation] 1. Greek Antiq .: The close order of battle in which the heavy-armed troops of a Grecian army were usually drawn up. There were several different arrangements of the phalanx peculiar to different states; but the most celebrated was that invented by Philip of Macedon. "The Maced on i ans were the most famous for this way of imbattling: their phalanx is described by Polybius to be a square battail of pikemen, consisting of sixteen in flank, and five hundred in front; the soldiers standing so close together, that the pikes of the fifth rank were extended three foot beyond the front of the battail."-Pot ter : Antiquities of Greece , bk. iii., ch. vi. 2. Anat. (pl.): The small bones of the fingers and toes, so called from their regular disposition. Normally each digit has three phalanxes. Called also internodes. *3. Bot . ( pl .) ( of the form phalanges): A number of stamens joined by their filaments. 14. Zool.: A sub-family.