The malleus gets its name from Latin malleus, meaning " hammer ", the Incus gets its name from Latin Incus meaning " anvil " from incudere meaning " to forge with a hammer ", and the Stapes gets its name from Modern Latin " stirrup ," probably an alteration of Late Latin Stapia related to stare " to stand " and pedem, an accusative of pes " foot ", so called because the bone is shaped like a stirrup-this was an invented Modern Latin word for " stirrup ," for which there was no classical Latin word, as the ancients did not use stirrups.

There are safety concerns associated with the use of stirrups, including a risk that a fallen rider may get their foot caught in the stirrup and be dragged by the horse, or that long hours of use without rest may cause problems in the human foot's Peroneus Tertius tendon.

Stirrups are safer to use when riding boots are worn, and proper sizing and placement of the foot on the stirrup increases both safety and usability.

As a tool allowing expanded use of horses in warfare, the stirrup is often called the third revolutionary step in equipment, after the chariot and the saddle.

The stirrup appeared to be in widespread use across China by AD 477.

Literary and archaeological evidence taken together would indicate with good probability that the stirrup was in common military use in South-Central Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean certainly by the latter half of the 6th century, with the Byzantine Empire having them in use certainly by the year 600.

Some scholars credit this use of the stirrup to the birth of feudalism and its subsequent spread into Northern Italy, Spain, Germany and into the Slavic territories.

It is argued that the rising feudal class structure of the European Middle Ages derived ultimately from the use of stirrups: " Few inventions have been so simple as the stirrup, but few have had so catalytic an influence on history.

This half-tongued style of stirrup ( hanshita abumi ) remained in use until the late Heian period when a new stirrup was developed.

The military version of this open-sided stirrup ( shitanaga abumi ) was in use by the middle Heian period.

Modern Jockeys, eventers, and show jumping riders use this type of stirrup, as do some cowboys when performing certain jobs that require a forward position to allow agility of horse and rider, such as calf roping

However, shortening the stirrup until the rider feels they will not lose the stirrup is counterproductive ; the goal of correct equestrianism is to make maximum use of the leg.

Disciplines that require long hours in the saddle, such as endurance riding and some types of western riding on a working ranch, often use a wider stirrup to provide more support to the foot.

Western stirrups are designed to parallel the use intended by the design of the saddle itself ; a trail riding saddle will have a wide, comfortable stirrup, a saddle for saddle bronc riding will have a narrow tread, to avoid being easily lost by the rider.

Stirrups on saddles used by people who use horses for hunting game in the forest are sometimes made of blaze orange for visibility to other hunters, and, because much big game hunting in the American West takes place late in the year when it is very cold, some " winter boot " designs are deliberately made extra large with an especially smooth bottom so that a person can wear heavy winter boots with a raised tread without as much risk of getting them caught up in the stirrup.

Some authors, such as Lynn White, claim the use of the stirrup in Europe stimulated development of the medieval knights which characterized feudal Europe.

It also has potential use in the operating room to perform measurements of prosthesis and stapes ( stirrup ) displacement.

The Scythians developed the saddle, and by the time of the Alans the use of the stirrup had begun.

But Frederick had forgotten to hold the Pope ’ s stirrup while leading him to the tent, and so Adrian refused to give the kiss until this protocol had been complied with.

However, the stirrup, which made the ' shock cavalry ' lance charge possible, was not introduced to the Frankish kingdom until the late eighth century.

The stirrup fix became the standard reinforcement until a more permanent fix for the problem was developed.

Christian European forces, meanwhile, lacked the powerful tool of the stirrup.

The first European literary reference to the stirrup is in the Strategikon of the Byzantine Emperor Maurice, written sometime between 575 and 628 AD.

A variant of this type, called the North European stirrup, has been dated to the second half of the 10th century in Sweden, found at the boat-burial cemetery at Valsgärde.

Cavalry tactics in China were enhanced by the invention of the saddle-attached stirrup by at least the 4th century, as the oldest reliable depiction of a rider with paired stirrups was found in a Jin Dynasty tomb of the year 322 AD.

The ossicles were given their Latin names for their distinctive shapes ; they are also referred to as the hammer, anvil, and stirrup, respectively.

The basic tactics of mounted warfare were significantly altered by the stirrup.

The invention of the stirrup occurred relatively late in history, considering that horses were domesticated in approximately 4500 BC, and the earliest known saddle like equipment were fringed cloths or pads with breast pads and cruppers used by Assyrian cavalry around 700 BC.

The open sides were designed to prevent the rider from catching a foot in the stirrup and being dragged.

Field boots: so called because they were traditionally worn by officers ranked " field grade " or higher, have lacing at the vamp, which allows for some give so the rider is more comfortable riding with the highly flexed ankle that develops from the shorter stirrup length required for work over fences.

The XL sport model ended production in 1970, but for 1971 at least 1, 585 sport coupe and convertibles were produced with bucket seats and center consoles ; the console was similar to the console in the XLs and Mercury Marauders of 1969-70, with a " stirrup " style shift handle.

The F-units did have grab irons and stirrup steps, but these features were a hindrance in locations with tight clearances.

Dogs which were too large to pass through the stirrup, were considered a danger to game.

Later, puttees were replaced by some armies with canvas leggings fastened with buckles or buttons, usually secured at the bottom with an adjustable stirrup that passed under the sole of the shoe, just in front of the heel.

There were lively contacts with Central Europe, and the Scandinavians continued to export iron, fur and slaves ; in return they acquired art and innovations, such as the stirrup.

Hilts were often of the beaded or " five-ball " type with a stirrup guard.

* The stirrup introduced to Persia from China, late 7th century

The earliest manifestation of the stirrup was a toe loop that held the big toe and was used in India late in the second century BC, though may have appeared as early as 500 BC.

American cowboy boots, first developed in the 19th century and still popular today in some parts of the United States, have high underslung heels to keep a rider's foot from sliding through the stirrup.

The scarcity of early-medieval stirrup finds in western Europe was noted by Bernard Bachrach: " Out of 704 eighth century male burials excavated in Germany untill 1967, only 13 had stirrups.

10th century stirrup found in England

Haniwa horse statuette, complete with horse tack | saddle and stirrup s, 6th century.