Wordul · all words

noun · 2 syllables · /ˈæn.vɪl/

ANVIL

What does "ANVIL" mean?

A heavy iron block on which metal is hammered and shaped.

Meanings

  1. A heavy block of iron or steel with a flat top, used as a surface for forging metal. The blacksmith laid the glowing bar across the anvil.
  2. The incus, one of the three small bones of the middle ear. Sound moves from the hammer to the anvil to the stirrup inside the ear. technical
  3. The flat, spreading top of a mature thundercloud. An anvil of cloud flattened out against the stratosphere.

Did you know?

  • Your inner ear contains a tiny bone literally called the anvil (the incus), struck by the bone called the hammer (the malleus) - the smallest mechanism in the body works like a forge.

Word origin

From Old English 'anfilt', meaning literally 'that which is struck' (an- 'on' + a root for beating), a direct native compound rather than a borrowing.

Remember it

ANVIL holds 'AN' and 'VIL' - picture AN eVIL-heavy block that won't budge.

A little poem

It never strikes back-
yet every blade in the town
was born on its silence.

haiku

Wordplay

  • There's an anvil inside your ear and an anvil in the forge - so technically you've always heard hammering, you just listen with one.

What it teaches

The anvil shapes everything by absorbing every blow; some strength is just the refusal to flinch.

Quick facts

What does ANVIL mean?

A heavy iron block on which metal is hammered and shaped.

Is ANVIL a valid word?

Yes — ANVIL is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.

How many letters is ANVIL?

ANVIL has 5 letters and 2 syllables.

Where does ANVIL come from?

From Old English 'anfilt', meaning literally 'that which is struck' (an- 'on' + a root for beating), a direct native compound rather than a borrowing.

What can ANVIL teach us?

The anvil shapes everything by absorbing every blow; some strength is just the refusal to flinch.

How players do

Be the first to solve it.

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