Dictionary

incus en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈɪŋ.kəs/ (UK, US)

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin incūs (“anvil”).

Meanings

1. A small anvil-shaped bone in the middle ear.
   • The tympanic cavity is spanned by the three smallest bones in the body: the auditory ossicles[…] These bones, named for their shape, are the malleus (malʹe-us; "hammer"); the incus (ingʹkus; "anvil"); and the stapes (staʹpēz; "stirrup"). 2010, Elaine N. Marieb, Katja Hoehn, Human Anatomy & Physiology, 8th edition, page 576:
2. An accessory cloud in the shape of an anvil which forms by spreading at the top of a cumulonimbus.

Forms

Relateds

incudal

Synonyms

anvil (bone in the middle ear) · thunderhead (cloud) · anvil (cloud)