cochlea

[kok-lee-uh, koh-klee-uh]

noun, plural coch·le·ae

[kok-lee-ee, -lee-ahy, koh-klee-ee, ‐klee-ahy] /ˈkɒk liˌi, -liˌaɪ, ˈkoʊ kliˌi, ‐kliˌaɪ/, coch·le·as. Anatomy.

a spiral-shaped cavity forming a division of the internal ear in humans and in most other mammals.

Origin of cochlea

1530–40; < Latin < Greek kochlíās snail (with spiral shell), screw, probably akin to kónchē conch

Related formscoch·le·ar, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for cochlea

Historical Examples of cochlea

Cochleatus is from cochlea, a snail, from resembling its shell.
The Mushroom, Edible and Otherwise
M. E. Hard
In the cochlea are about 2,800 tiny nerve-ends, called the rods of Corti.
How it Works
Archibald Williams
Stretched across within the cochlea are some 3000 fibers or strings.
Physics
Willis Eugene Tower
Here is a cochlea; a meatus; and, as it should seem, more than one tympanum.
An Introduction to Entomology: Vol. II (of 4)
William Kirby
To destroy the cochlear nerve, the whole of the cochlea should be removed.
A System of Operative Surgery, Volume IV (of 4)
Various

British Dictionary definitions for cochlea

cochlea

noun plural -leae (-lɪˌiː)

the spiral tube, shaped like a snail's shell, that forms part of the internal ear, converting sound vibrations into nerve impulses

Derived Formscochlear, adjective

Word Origin for cochlea

C16: from Latin: snail, spiral, from Greek kokhlias; probably related to Greek konkhē conch

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

Word Origin and History for cochlea

"spiral cavity of the inner ear," 1680s, from Latin cochlea "snail shell," from Greek kokhlias "snail, screw," etc., from kokhlos "spiral shell," perhaps related to konkhos "mussel, conch."

cochlea in Medicine

cochlea

[kŏk′lē-ə, kō′klē-ə]

n. pl. coch•le•as

A spiral-shaped cavity in the petrous portion of the temporal bone of the inner ear, containing the nerve endings essential for hearing and forming one of the divisions of the labyrinth.

Related formscoch′le•ar (-ər) adj.

cochlea in Science

cochlea

[kŏk′lē-ə]

Plural cochleae (kŏk′lē-ē′, -lē-ī′) cochleas

A spiral-shaped cavity of the inner ear and the main organ of hearing. The cochlea contains the nerve endings that transmit sound vibrations from the middle ear to the auditory nerve.