malleolus

M3A1L1L1E1O1L1U1S1
UK/maˈliː.əl.əs/US/məˈliː.əl.əs/

noun

The bony prominence with a shape likened to a hammerhead, especially each of those at the distal end of the fibula or tibia, on either side of the ankle joint.

OriginLatin malleolus →
RareScrabble 11
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Meanings

nounmalleolus (plural malleoli or malleoluses)

plural malleoli · plural malleoluses

  1. anatomyThe bony prominence with a shape likened to a hammerhead, especially each of those at the distal end of the fibula or tibia, on either side of the ankle joint.

Origin

  1. Latinmalleolus“a small hammer or mallet”
  2. Englishmalleolus

Borrowed from Latin malleolus (“a small hammer or mallet”); itself from malleus (“a hammer, mallet”) + -olus (“diminutive suffix”).

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan mal·lèol
  • mal·lèolTranslations
Chinese Mandarin 踝
  • 踝 (huái)Translations
Danish maleol
  • maleolTranslations
Finnish kehräsluu
  • kehräsluuTranslations
French malléole
  • malléoleTranslations
German Fußknöchel
  • FußknöchelTranslations
Indonesian mata kaki
  • mata kakiTranslations
Irish mailléalas
  • mailléalasTranslations
Italian malleolo
  • malleoloTranslations
Japanese 踝
  • 踝 (kurubushi)Translations
Korean 복사뼈
  • 복사뼈 (boksappyeo)Translations
Polish kostka
  • kostkaTranslations
Spanish maléolo
  • maléoloTranslations
Swedish fotknöl, ankel
  • fotknölTranslations
  • ankelTranslations
Thai ตาตุ่ม
  • ตาตุ่ม (dta-dtum)Translations
Ukrainian кі́сточка
  • кі́сточка (kístočka)Translations
Vietnamese mắt cá
  • mắt cáTranslations
Welsh gorddan
  • gorddanTranslations

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with malleolus

nucleolusalveolus
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

malleolus. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/malleolus

MLA

“malleolus.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/malleolus. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “malleolus,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/malleolus.

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