nostril
English
editAlternative forms
edit- nosethirl (now Britain regional, archaic)
Etymology
editFrom Middle English nostrille, from Old English nosþȳrel, equivalent to nose thirl (“hole”). Compare Old Frisian nosterle (“nostril”), modern West Frisian noaster (“nostrill”). Compare also Middle Low German noster (“nostril”), from Proto-Germanic *nustriz (“nostril”).
Pronunciation
editNoun
editnostril (plural nostrils)
- Either of the two orifices located on the nose (or on the beak of a bird); used as a passage for air and other gases to travel the nasal passages.
- 1601, Plinius Secundus, translated by Philemon Holland, The Hiſtorie of the World. Commonly Called, the Naturall Hiſtorie […] [1], London: Impenſis G. B, Book L, Chapter XIII, page 58:
- […] whether it bee that they bee broken winded and purſiue, or otherwiſe bitten and ſtung with venomous beaſts; in which caſes, there muſt be an injection made vp into the noſthrils, of the juice of Rue in wine.
Derived terms
editTranslations
editeither of the two orifices located on the nose
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References
edit- “nostril”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “nostril”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
Anagrams
editCategories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
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- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English 2-syllable words
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- Rhymes:English/ɒstɹəl
- Rhymes:English/ɒstɹəl/2 syllables
- English lemmas
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- en:Face