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brachiosaurus (n.): 1903, Modern Latin, from Greek brakhion "arm" (see brachio-) + -saurus. The forelegs are notably longer than the hind legs.
chevron (n.): late 14c., from Old French chevron "rafter; chevron" (13c.), the accent mark so called because it looks like rafters of a shallow roof, from Vulgar Latin *caprione, from Latin caper "goat" (see cab); the hypothetical connection between goats and rafters being the animal's angular hind legs. Compare Latin capreolus "props, stays, short pieces of timber for support," lit. "wild goat, chamoix."
dog leg (n.): "something bent like a dog's hind leg," 1703. Originally of a type of staircase.
gambrel (n.): "hipped roof," 1851, short for gambrel roof (1763), so called for its shape, from gambrel "horse's hind leg" (c. 1600), earlier "wooden bar to hang carcasses" (1540s), perhaps from Old North French gamberel, from gambe "leg," from Late Latin gamba (see gambol).
grasshopper (n.): popular name of insects with hind legs suited to jumping, mid-14c. (late 13c. as a surname), earlier greshoppe (c. 1200), from Old English gærshoppa; see grass + hopper (n.1). Similar formation in Middle Swedish gräshoppare, German Grashüpfer. As a term of reproach, from Eccl. xii:5. Also recorded c. 1300 as a name for the hare.
hock (n.1): "joint in the hind leg of a horse," mid-15c., earlier hockshin (late 14c.), from Old English hohsinu "sinew of the heel, Achilles' tendon," literally "heel sinew," from hoh "heel," from Proto-Germanic *hanhaz (cognates: German Hachse "hock," Old English hæla "heel"), from PIE *kenk- (3) "heel, bend of the knee."
ramp (v.): c. 1300, "to climb; to stand on the hind legs" (of animals), from Old French ramper "to climb, scale, mount" (12c., in Modern French "to creep, crawl"), perhaps from Frankish *rampon "to contract oneself" (compare Old High German rimpfan "to wrinkle," Old English hrimpan "to fold, wrinkle"), via notion of the bodily contraction involved in climbing [Klein], from Proto-Germanic *hrimp- "to contract oneself." Related: Ramped; ramping.
rampage (v.): 1715, in Scottish, probably from Middle English verb ramp "rave, rush wildly about" (c. 1300), especially of beasts rearing on their hind legs, as if climbing, from Old French ramper (see ramp (n.1), also see rampant). Related: Rampaged; rampaging.
rampant (adj.): late 14c., "standing on the hind legs" (as a heraldic lion often does), thus, also, "fierce, ravenous" (late 14c.), from Old French rampant, present participle of ramper "to climb, scale, mount" (see rampage (v.)). Sense of "growing without check" (in running rampant), first recorded 1610s, probably is via the notion of "fierce disposition" or else preserves the older French sense.
rear (v.1): Old English ræran "to raise, build up, create, set on end; arouse, excite, stir up," from Proto-Germanic *raizijanau "to raise," causative of *risanan "to rise" (see raise (v.)). Meaning "bring into being, bring up" (as a child) is recorded from early 15c.; that of "raise up on the hind legs" is first recorded late 14c. Related: Reared; rearing.
capriole: "A movement performed in classical riding, in which the horse leaps from the ground and kicks out with its hind legs", Late 16th century: from obsolete French (now cabriole), from Italian capriola 'leap', from capriolo 'roebuck', from Latin capreolus, diminutive of caper, capr- 'goat'.
ranid: "A frog of the large family Ranidae, which comprises typical frogs with long hind legs that are used for both leaping and swimming", Late 19th cent.; earliest use found in Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. From scientific Latin Rana, genus name ( Linnaeus Systema Naturae (ed. 10, 1758) I. 210; from classical Latin rāna frog, perhaps of imitative origin) + -id, after scientific Latin Ranidae, family name.