petrous
[pe-truh s, pee-]
- Anatomy. noting or pertaining to the hard dense portion of the temporal bone, containing the internal auditory organs; petrosal.
- like stone, especially in hardness; stony; rocky.
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Origin of petrous
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for petrous
Historical Examples
The bones related to the organ of hearing, the tympanis and petrous bones, are very solid and dense in structure.
The Cambridge Natural History, Vol X., MammaliaFrank Evers Beddard
On its inner side is a small air chamber in the petrous portion of the temporal bone, called the cavity of the tympanum.
A Practical PhysiologyAlbert F. Blaisdell
From the surrounding 794 mesoderm the petrous bone is formed by a process of chondrification and ossification.
The bony labyrinth presents a series of cavities which are channelled through the substance of the petrous bone.
By this means the posterior surface of the petrous bone can be exposed as far inwards as the internal auditory meatus.
petrous
- anatomy denoting the dense part of the temporal bone that surrounds the inner ear
- rare like rock or stone
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Word Origin
C16: from Latin petrōsus full of rocks
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for petrous
adj.
1540s, from Middle French petreux, from Latin petrosus "stony," from petra "rock," from Greek petra "rock, cliff, ledge, shelf of rock, rocky ridge," of uncertain origin. Possibly from PIE root *per- "to lead, pass over," if the original meaning is "bedrock" and the notion is "what one comes through to" [Watkins].
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
petrous
(pĕt′rəs)- Of stony hardness.
- Of or relating to the dense hard portion of the temporal bone that forms a protective case for the inner ear.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
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