malleus
The small hammer-shaped bone of the middle ear.
Example
“A fracture of the malleus handle is a rare traumatic middle ear lesion.”
Other meanings
The tripus ossicle in cypriniform fishes.
One of the paired calcareous structures within the mastax of rotifers.
Synonyms
- hammer
Related words
- malleiform
- malleal
- mallear
- malleable
Word history
From Latin "malleus" (hammer, mallet).
Where this comes from
This definition is adapted from “malleus” on Wiktionary, by its contributors; related-word lists use Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0, based on Princeton WordNet), published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.