stapes

English

Location of the stapes

Etymology 1

From Medieval Latin stapēs (“stirrup”). Doublet of step.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsteɪ.piːz/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

stapes (plural stapes or stapedes)

1. (anatomy, zootomy) A small stirrup-shaped innermost ossicle of the middle ear of mammals, transmitting vibrations from the incus to the inner ear.

   Synonym: stirrup

   • 2010, Elaine Nicpon Marieb, Katja Hoehn, Human Anatomy & Physiology, 8th edition, page 576:

     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"). The "handle" of the malleus is secured to the eardrum, and the base of the stapes fits into the oval window.

Related terms

• stapedial
• stapedo-, staped-

Translations

Translations

• Afrikaans: stiebeuel (af), stapes
• Albanian: yzengji (sq) f
• Catalan: estrep m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 鐙骨／镫骨 (zh) (dènggǔ)

• Czech: třmínek (cs) m
• Estonian: jalus
• Finnish: jalustin (fi)
• French: étrier (fr) m
• Galician: estribo (gl) m
• German: Steigbügel (de) m
• Greek: αναβολέας (el) m (anavoléas)
• Hungarian: kengyel (hu)
• Ido: estribo (io)
• Italian: staffa (it) f
• Japanese: 鐙骨 (ja) (あぶみこつ, abumikotsu)
• Korean: 등자뼈 (deungjappyeo)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: zengû (ku) f

• Macedonian: узенгија f (uzengija)
• Norwegian: stigbøyle f
• Polish: strzemiączko (pl) n
• Portuguese: estribo (pt) m, estapédio m
• Romanian: scăriță (ro) f
• Russian: стре́мя (ru) n (strémja)
• Serbo-Croatian: stremenjača f
• Spanish: estribo (es) m, estapedio m
• Swedish: stigbygel (sv) c
• Thai: กระดูกโกลน (grà-dùuk-gloon)
• Turkish: üzengi (tr)
• Yiddish: בייגל (beygl)

See also

• bone

References

• “stapes”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “stapes”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

Etymology 2

Noun

stapes

1. plural of stape

Anagrams

• Pestas, aspets, et pass., pastes, sepats, spates, speats

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sta.pɛs/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

stapes m (plural stapes)

1. stapes

   Synonym: étrier

Anagrams

• pestas

Latin

Stapēs ferreus (iron stirrup)

Alternative forms

• stapia (rare)

Etymology

From a Germanic source, possibly Frankish *stap or Old High German stapf, staph (“step, stirrup”), both from Proto-Germanic *stapiz (“a step, rung (of a ladder)”). More at step.

Alternatively: Late Latin; possibly from stō (“to stand”) +‎ pēs (“foot”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈsta.peːs/, [ˈs̠t̪äpeːs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈsta.pes/, [ˈst̪äːpes]

Noun

stapēs m (genitive stapedis); third declension (Medieval Latin)

1. stirrup
   • (Can we date this quote?), Dē Tribus Columnīs Jūris Secundum Powissiensēs, volume 2, 16. Dē Pretiīs Rērum:

     […] quīdam duōs stapedēs et trēs cingulās ūnā cum sella annumerant, aliī hīs singulīs pretium lēgitimum assignant, id est, stapedibus aurātīs

     […] some two stirrups and three belts with a chair are paid out, all assigned a single worth, that is, golden stirrups

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. (anatomy) stapes (bone in the middle ear)

Inflection

Third-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	stapēs	stapedēs
Genitive	stapedis	stapedum
Dative	stapedī	stapedibus
Accusative	stapedem	stapedēs
Ablative	stapede	stapedibus
Vocative	stapēs	stapedēs

Derived terms

• stapedius (adjective)

Descendants

Descendants of stapes in other languages

• → English: stapes
• → French: stapes
• → Spanish: estápede

References

• stapes in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• stapes in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• stapes in Ramminger, Johann (2016 July 16 (last accessed)) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎^[1], pre-publication website, 2005-2016