otolith

[ oht-l-ith ]

noun

Anatomy, Zoology. a calcareous concretion in the internal ear of vertebrates.
statolith (def. 1).

Origin of otolith

First recorded in 1825–35; oto- + -lith

Words Nearby otolith

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use otolith in a sentence

The Leydigian or nuchal organ is supposed to be auditory and to contain an otolith.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 6 | Various
otolith: a little ear-bone: granules or concretions found in an otocyst.
Explanation of Terms Used in Entomology | John. B. Smith
There are tentacles and otolith vesicles as very delicate organs of feeling, or possibly of hearing also.
The Whence and the Whither of Man | John Mason Tyler
The otolith apparatus of the cat can render it no service in free descent.
Popular scientific lectures | Ernst Mach
The dorsal half of the otolith is pigmented: the ventral half is without pigment.
The Works of Francis Maitland Balfour, Volume III (of 4) | Francis Maitland Balfour

British Dictionary definitions for otolith

otolith

/ (ˈəʊtəʊˌlɪθ) /

noun

any of the granules of calcium carbonate in the inner ear of vertebrates. Movement of otoliths, caused by a change in position of the animal, stimulates sensory hair cells, which convey the information to the brain
another name for statolith (def. 1)

Derived forms of otolith

otolithic, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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