Mal"le*us (?), n.; pl. Mallei (#). [L., hammer. See Mall a beetle.]
1. Anat.
The outermost of the three small auditory bones, ossicles; the hammer. It is attached to the tympanic membrane by a long process, the handle or manubrium. See Illust. of Far.
2. Zool.
One of the hard lateral pieces of the mastax of Rotifera. See Mastax.
3. Zool.
A genus of bivalve shells; the hammer shell.
© Webster 1913.