Petrous
/ˈpɛtrəs/noun
Anatomical term meaning rock-like or hard, especially referring to part of the temporal bone.
Did you know?Petrous comes from Greek petra, “rock,” the same ancient root behind the name Peter, originally meaning “rock” or “stone.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*pet-
“to fly, rush; in a separate branch, a related form underlies stone/rock terms via borrowed or shifted ancient formations”
Ancient Greek
Greek
petros / petra
“stone, rock”
Latin
Latin
petrosus
“rocky, stony”
Late Latin
Latin
petrosus
“rocky, stony”
Middle English
English
petrous
“rock-like; stony”
Modern English
English
petrous
“hard and rock-like, especially of the petrous part of the temporal bone”