anvil

 
Pronunciation: /ˈanvɪl/

noun

  • 1a heavy iron block with a flat top and concave sides, on which metal can be hammered and shaped.
  • 2the horizontally extended upper part of a cumulonimbus cloud: [as modifier]: anvil clouds
  • 3 Anatomyanother term for incus.

Origin:

Old English anfilte, from the Germanic base of on + a verbal stem meaning 'beat'