stapedius

Borrowed from New Latin stapedius, clipping of mūsculus stapedius (“stapedial muscle”). Doublet of stapedial.

• (General American) IPA^(key): /stəˈpi.di.əs/
• Rhymes: -iːdiəs

stapedius (plural stapedii)

1. (anatomy) A small muscle of the middle ear that arises from the wall of the tympanum and is inserted into the neck of the stapes by a tendon that sometimes contains a slender spine of bone; it is the smallest skeletal muscle in the human body, serving to stabilize the stapes to check and dampen its vibration.

• stapedial

• “stapedius”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

• puts aside

From Medieval Latin stapēs (“stirrup; stapes”) +‎ -ius (adjectival suffix).

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /staˈpe.di.us/, [s̠t̪äˈpɛd̪iʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /staˈpe.di.us/, [st̪äˈpɛːd̪ius]

stapedius (feminine stapedia, neuter stapedium); first/second-declension adjective (New Latin)

1. (relational) stirrup
2. (anatomy, relational) stapedial

First/second-declension adjective.

• ⇒ English: stapedial
• → English: stapedius