modiolus

[ moh-dahy-uh-luh s, muh- ]

/ moʊˈdaɪ ə ləs, mə- /

noun, plural mo·di·o·li [moh-dahy-uh-lahy, muh-] /moʊˈdaɪ əˌlaɪ, mə-/. Anatomy.

the central, conical axis of the cochlea of the ear.

Words nearby modiolus

modified-release, modifier, modify, modigliani, modillion, modiolus, modish, modiste, modjeska, modoc, modock wool

Origin of modiolus

1685–95; < New Latin, Latin: nave of a wheel bucket, drinking vessel, equivalent to modi(us) a dry measure (perhaps derivative of modus mode¹) + -olus -ole¹

OTHER WORDS FROM modiolus

mo·di·o·lar, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for modiolus

Modiolus, mo-dī′o-lus, n. the central stem round which wind the passages of the cochlea of the internal ear.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M)|Various
At the extremity of the modiolus, the two passages communicate with each other.
A Treatise on Anatomy, Physiology, and Hygiene (Revised Edition)|Calvin Cutter
The Latin term for the trephine, modiolus, has the same meaning.
Surgical Instruments in Greek and Roman Times|John Stewart Milne
Name from modiolus, the broad and depressed fruit resembling in shape the Roman measure of that name.
The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States|Asa Gray

British Dictionary definitions for modiolus

modiolus

/ (məʊˈdaɪəʊləs, mə-) /

noun plural -li (-ˌlaɪ)

the central bony pillar of the cochlea

Word Origin for modiolus

C19: New Latin, from Latin: hub of a wheel, from modus a measure

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

Medicine definitions for modiolus

modiolus

[ mō-dī′ə-ləs ]

n. pl. mo•di•o•li (-lī′)

The central conical bony core of the cochlea of the ear.