cochlear, a.
(ˈkɒkliːə(r))
[ad. L. type *cochleār-is pertaining to a cochlea, actually occurring only as the neuter noun coc(h)leār or coc(h)leāre a spoon, whence sense 2. Cf. F. cochléaire.]
1. Phys. Pertaining to the cochlea.
| 1831 R. Knox Cloquet's Anat. 575 The cochlear branch of the acoustic nerve. 1877 Burnet Ear 126 The cochlear canal starts at the outer and lower corner of the vestibule. |
2. Bot. In cochlear æstivation, a form of imbricated æstivation, in which one petal being larger than the others, and hollowed like a helmet or bowl, covers all the others.
| 1835 Lindley Introd. Bot. (1848) II. 376. 1870 Bentley Bot. 212 A form of æstivation..to which the name cochlear has been given. |