in general, denotes the juncture of two or more things. The joints of the human body are called by anatomists articulations. See ANATOMY, n° 2.

The suppleness to which the joints may be brought by long practice from the time of infancy, is very surprising. Every common posture-master shows us a great deal of this; but one of the most wonderful instances we ever had of it, was in a person of the name of Clark, and famous for it in London, where he was commonly known by the name of Clerk the posture-master. This man had found the way, by long practice, to distort many of the bones, of which nobody before had ever thought it possible to alter the position. He had such an absolute command of his muscles and joints, that he could almost disjoint his whole body; so that he once imposed on the famous Mullens by his distortions, in such a manner, that he refused to undertake his cure: but, to the amazement of the physician, no sooner had he given over his patient, than he saw him restore himself to the figure and condition of a proper man, with no distortion about him.