2. (Zo["o]l.) One of numerous small calcareous structures forming the skeleton of certain echinoderms, as the starfishes. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
ossicle — 1570s, from L. ossiculum, dim. of os bone (see OSSEOUS (Cf. osseous)) … Etymology dictionary
ossicle — ► NOUN Anatomy ▪ a very small bone, especially one of those which transmit sounds within the middle ear. ORIGIN Latin ossiculum little bone … English terms dictionary
ossicle — [äs′i kəl] n. [< L ossiculum, dim. of os, a bone: see OSSIFY] a small bone or bonelike structure; esp., any of the three small bones in the tympanic cavity of the ear ossicular [ä sik′yo͞o lər] adj. ossiculate [ä sik′yəlit, ä sik′yəlāt΄] … English World dictionary
ossicle — noun a) A small bone (or bony structure), especially one of the three of the middle ear. The incus is one of the three auditory ossicles. b) Bone like joint or plate, especially: The eyeballs were surrounded by a ring of bones, the sclerotic… … Wiktionary
ossicle — noun Etymology: Latin ossiculum, diminutive of oss , os Date: 1578 a small bone or bony structure (as the malleus, incus, or stapes) • ossicular adjective … New Collegiate Dictionary
ossicle — small bone, e.g. Weberian ossicles, ossicles of Gemminger … Dictionary of ichthyology
ossicle — n. [L. dim. os, ossis, bone] 1. A small nodule of chitin that resembles bone. 2. (ARTHROPODA: Crustacea) Teeth and tooth like process in the gastric mill. 3. (ARTHROPODA: Insecta) For Diptera, see axillary sclerites. 4. (ECHINODERMATA) Plates,… … Dictionary of invertebrate zoology
ossicle — ossicular /o sik yeuh leuhr/, ossiculate /o sik yeuh lit/, adj. /os i keuhl/, n. a small bone. [1570 80; < L ossiculum, equiv. to ossi (comb. form of os) bone + culum CLE1] * * * … Universalium
Ossicle — Any small bone, such as the tiny bones within the human ear. * * * A small bone; specifically, one of the bones of the tympanic cavity or middle ear. SYN: ossiculum [TA], bonelet. [L. ossiculum, dim. of os, bone] Andernach ossicles SYN: sutural… … Medical dictionary
ossicle — os·si·cle || É‘sɪkl / É’s n. small bone; one of the bones in the small bony structure in the human middle ear … English contemporary dictionary
