OSSICLE

ossicle, bonelet, ossiculum

(noun) a small bone; especially one in the middle ear

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

ossicle (plural ossicles)

(anatomy) A small bone (or bony structure), especially one of the three of the middle ear.

(zoology) Bone-like joint or plate, especially

one of numerous small calcareous structures forming the skeleton of certain echinoderms, as the starfishes;

one of the hard articuli or joints of the stem or branches of a crinoid or encrinite;

one of the several small hard chitinous parts or processes of the gastric skeleton of crustaceans, as in the stomach of a lobster or crawfish.

The skeleton of echinoderms is made of ossicles, linked to each other via muscles and connective tissue.

Synonyms

• auditory bone

• auditory ossicle

• bonelet

• ossicular chain

• ossicule

• ossiculum

• otic bone

Anagrams

• loessic, scolies

Source: Wiktionary


Os"si*cle, n. Etym: [L. ossiculum, dim. of os, ossis, a bone.]

1. A little bone; as, the auditory ossicles in the tympanum of the ear.

2. (Zoöl.)

Definition: One of numerous small calcareous structures forming the skeleton of certain echinoderms, as the starfishes.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

30 March 2025

EVANGELICAL

(adjective) of or pertaining to or in keeping with the Christian gospel especially as in the first 4 books of the New Testament


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Coffee Trivia

The earliest credible evidence of coffee-drinking as the modern beverage appeared in modern-day Yemen. In the middle of the 15th century in Sufi shrines where coffee seeds were first roasted and brewed for drinking. The Yemenis procured the coffee beans from the Ethiopian Highlands.

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