cochlea

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UK/ˈkɒk.li.ə/Atlantic Canada, US/ˈkoʊ.kli.ə/Atlantic Canada, US/ˈkɑ.kli.ə/

noun

The complex, spirally coiled, tapered cavity of the inner ear of higher vertebrates, which contains the organ of Corti and in which sound vibrations are converted into nerve impulses.

OriginLatin cochlea ← Ancient Greek κόχλιας →
UncommonScrabble 14
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Meanings

nouncochlea (plural cochleae or cochleas)

plural cochleae · plural cochleas

  1. anatomyThe complex, spirally coiled, tapered cavity of the inner ear of higher vertebrates, which contains the organ of Corti and in which sound vibrations are converted into nerve impulses.
  2. A spiral-shaped shell, especially that of a snail.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
snailshell

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekκόχλιας“a snail with a spiral shell”
  2. Latincochlea“a snail”
  3. Englishcochlea

Borrowed from Latin cochlea (“a snail”), from Ancient Greek κόχλιας (kókhlias, “a snail with a spiral shell”).

More words from Latin, Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans koglea
  • kogleaTranslations
Bulgarian ушен охлюв
  • ушен охлюв (ušen ohljuv)Translations
Catalan còclea
  • còcleaTranslations
Chinese Mandarin 耳蝸 /耳蜗
  • 耳蝸 /耳蜗Translations
Czech hlemýžď
  • hlemýžďTranslations
Dutch slakkenhuis
  • slakkenhuisTranslations
Finnish simpukka
  • simpukkaTranslations
French cochlée
  • cochléeTranslations
German Hörschnecke
  • HörschneckeTranslations
Greek κοχλίας
  • κοχλίας (kochlías)Translations
Hindi कर्णावर्त
  • कर्णावर्त (karṇāvart)Translations
Hungarian csiga
  • csigaTranslations
Icelandic kuðungur
  • kuðungurTranslations
Indonesian koklea
  • kokleaTranslations
Italian coclea
  • cocleaTranslations
Japanese 蝸牛
  • 蝸牛 (kagyū)Translations
Norwegian sneglehuset
  • sneglehusetTranslations
Persian حلزون گوش
  • حلزون گوش (halazun-e guš)Translations
Portuguese caracol, cóclea
  • caracolTranslations
  • cócleaTranslations
Russian ули́тка
  • ули́тка (ulítka)Translations
Spanish cóclea
  • cócleaTranslations
Swedish hörselsnäcka, öronsnäcka
  • hörselsnäckaTranslations
  • öronsnäckaTranslations
  • kokleaTranslations
Tagalog karakol
  • karakolTranslations
Thai หูชั้นในรูปหอยโข่ง
  • หูชั้นในรูปหอยโข่งTranslations
Turkish kulak salyangozu
  • kulak salyangozuTranslations
Vietnamese ốc tai
  • ốc taiTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

cochlea. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cochlea

MLA

“cochlea.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cochlea. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cochlea,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cochlea.

Source: cochlea on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.