noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A small particle, composed mainly of calcium carbonate, found in the inner ear of vertebrates, being part of the balance sense.

Synonyms

All synonyms

otoconiumotoconiumotosteonotosteonstatoconiumstatoconium

Etymology

From oto- + -lith, from Ancient Greek ὠτο- (ōto-), stem of οὖς (oûs, “ear”), and λίθος (líthos, “stone”).

Related phrases

calcium carbonateinner ear

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.