stapes

[ stey-peez ]

/ ˈsteɪ piz /

Save This Word!

noun, plural sta·pes, sta·pe·des

[stuh-pee-deez]. /stəˈpi diz/. Anatomy.

the innermost, stirrup-shaped bone of a chain of three small bones in the middle ear of humans and other mammals, involved in the conduction of sound vibrations to the inner ear.

QUIZ

ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

Question 1 of 8

Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?

navy

beryl

azure

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Also called stirrup .

Compare incus (def. 1), malleus.

Origin of stapes

First recorded in 1660–70; from New Latin stapēs, Medieval Latin: “stirrup,” perhaps etymologizing alteration of Italian staffa “stirrup” (from Germanic ) by association with Latin stāre “to stand,” and pēs, stem ped- “foot”; see foot

OTHER WORDS FROM stapes

sta·pe·di·al

[stuh-pee-dee-uhl], /stəˈpi di əl/, adjective

Words nearby stapes

stapedectomy, stapedial, stapediotenotomy, stapedius, stapelia, stapes, stapes-mobilization operation, staph, Staphcillin, staphylectomy, staphyledema

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use stapes in a sentence

The third ear-ossicle of mammals, the stapes, comes not from the first arch but from the second.
Form and Function|E. S. (Edward Stuart) Russell
Even then it may be anatomically impossible to see the stapes.
A System of Operative Surgery, Volume IV (of 4)|Various
In the latter (Ambystoma) the nerve is beneath, and in the former (Rana) above, the stapes.
The Ancestry of Modern Amphibia: A Review of the Evidence|Theodore H. Eaton
Sometimes the term columella is used to include the whole ossicular chain,—the columella together with the stapes.
The Vertebrate Skeleton|Sidney H. Reynolds

The stapes is very much like a reptilian columella, having a single crus with no perforation.
The Vertebrate Skeleton|Sidney H. Reynolds

British Dictionary definitions for stapes

stapes

/ (ˈsteɪpiːz) /

noun plural stapes or stapedes (stæˈpiːdiːz)

the stirrup-shaped bone that is the innermost of three small bones in the middle ear of mammalsNontechnical name: stirrup bone Compare incus, malleus

Derived forms of stapes

stapedial (stæˈpiːdɪəl), adjective

Word Origin for stapes

C17: via New Latin from Medieval Latin, perhaps a variant of staffa, stapeda stirrup, influenced in form by Latin stāre to stand + pēs a foot

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

Medical definitions for stapes

stapes

[ stā′pēz ]

n. pl. stapes

The smallest of the three auditory ossicles, whose base fits into the oval window and whose head is articulated with the lenticular process of the long limb of the incus.stirrup

Scientific definitions for stapes

stapes

[ stā′pēz ]

Plural stapes stapedes (stā′pĭ-dēz′)

The roughly stirrup-shaped bone that is the innermost of the three small bones (ossicles) of the middle ear.