Malleus

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)

malleus
    n 1: the ossicle attached to the eardrum [syn: {malleus},
         {hammer}]

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Malleus \Mal"le*us\, n.; pl. {Mallei}. [L., hammer. See {Mall} a
   beetle.]
   1. (Anat.) The outermost of the three small auditory bones,
      ossicles; the hammer. It is attached to the tympanic
      membrane by a long process, the handle or manubrium. See
      Illust. of {Far}.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. (Zool.) One of the hard lateral pieces of the mastax of
      Rotifera. See {Mastax}.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. (Zool.) A genus of bivalve shells; the hammer shell.
      [1913 Webster]