anvil

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a heavy iron or steel block on which metal is shaped by hammering

   The blacksmith placed the glowing bar on the anvil and struck it flat.

2. 2
   noun

   the incus, the middle one of the three small bones in the middle ear

   The anvil transmits vibrations from the hammer bone to the stirrup.

From Old English anfilte or onfilti, from a West Germanic compound associated with being beaten upon. Its form changed considerably in Middle English before settling as anvil.

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