nose

Reading level: medium

Estimated CEFR level: A2 — Elementary

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun the organ of smell and entrance to the respiratory tract; the prominent part of the face of man or other mammals
  2. noun a front that resembles a human nose (especially the front of an aircraft)
  3. noun the front or forward projection of a tool or weapon

Etymology

From Middle English nose, from Old English nosu, from Proto-West Germanic *nosu, variant of *nasō, old dual from Proto-Indo-European *néh₂s- ~ *nh₂es- (“nose, nostril”). See also Saterland Frisian Noose, West Frisian noas, Dutch neus, Swedish nos, Norwegian nos (“snout”), Low German Nääs, German Nase, Swedish näsa, Norwegian nese, Danish næse (“nose”); also Latin nāris (“nostril”), nāsus (“nose”), Lithuanian nósis, Russian нос (nos), Sanskrit नासा (nā́sā, “nostrils”).

In classic literature

Synonyms

olfactory organ

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