"the leg from the hip downwards," is used only of the breaking of the "legs" of the crucified malefactors, to hasten their death, John 19:31-33 (a customary act, not carried out in the case of Christ, in fullfillment of Exodus 12:46; Numbers 9:12 ). The practice was known as skelokopia (from kopto, "to stike"), or, in Latin, crurifragium (from crus, "a leg," and frango, "to break").