stapes

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

• IPA^(key): /ˈsteɪ.piːz/

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.
   • 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.

   Synonym: stirrup

• stapedial
• stapedo-, staped-

• bone

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

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

• IPA^(key): /sta.pɛs/

• Audio

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stapes m (plural stapes)

1. stapes

   Synonym: étrier

• pestas

• stapia (rare)

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”).

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

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 quote)

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

Third-declension noun.

• stapedius (adjective)

• 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 (accessed 16 July 2016) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎, pre-publication website, 2005-2016