Noun: anvil an-vil
- A heavy block of iron or steel on which hot metals are shaped by hammering
"The blacksmith shaped the horseshoe on the anvil"
- A small anvil-shape bone in the middle ear that transmits sound vibrations
"The anvil connects the malleus to the stapes in the ossicular chain";
- incus
Derived forms: anvils
Type of: auditory ossicle, block
Part of: forge, middle ear, smithy, tympanic cavity, tympanum
Encyclopedia: Anvil, Michigan