镫 (dèng): stirrup

Meanings

他把脚踩进马镫，翻身上马。

Tā bǎ jiǎo cǎi jìn mǎdèng, fānshēn shàngmǎ.

He put his foot in the stirrup and swung onto the horse.

镫骨是中耳里的一块小骨头。

Dènggǔ shì zhōng'ěr lǐ de yì kuài xiǎo gǔtou.

The stapes is one of the tiny bones in the middle ear.

usage

镫 mainly appears in 马镫 (stirrup) and the anatomy term 镫骨 (stapes), named for its stirrup-like shape.

radical

钅 jīn

metal; gold

The metal radical, side form of 金, marks 镫 as a metal object, here the iron or bronze stirrup.

phonetic

登 dēng

to climb; mount

Supplies the sound, close to the modern reading dèng, and fittingly evokes mounting up. Seen standing alone as 登.

镫 dèng