stapes
sta·pes/ˈsteɪ̯piːz/noun
stapes is spelled S-T-A-P-E-S: 6 letters and 2 syllables (sta·pes). It appears about once in every 14 million words in written English, the 113,022nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, stapes means “A small stirrup-shaped innermost ossicle of the middle ear of mammals, transmitting vibrations from the incus to the inner ear” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of stapes is stapedes.
How many letters and syllables are in stapes?
| Letters | 6: S-T-A-P-E-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: sta·pes |
| In writing | about once in every 14 million words; the 113,022nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is stapes?
Stapes appears about once in every 14 million words in written English, the 113,022nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce stapes?
- /ˈsteɪ̯piːz/
- [ˈsteɪ̯pʰɪi̯z]
Stapes has 2 syllables, split sta·pes in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Persent101-stapes.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of stapes
- stapedes plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does stapes mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A small stirrup-shaped innermost ossicle of the middle ear of mammals, transmitting vibrations from the incus to the inner ear.
- 2
plural of stape
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Stapes in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense Translations:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | étrier |
| German | Steigbügel |
| Portuguese | estribo, estapédio |
| Spanish | estribo, estapedio |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does stapes come from?
Borrowed from Medieval Latin stapēs (“stirrup”). Doublet of step.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).