nostril

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B2 — Upper-Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun either one of the two external openings to the nasal cavity in the nose

Etymology

From Middle English nostrille, from Old English nosþyrel. Compare Old Frisian nosterle (“nostril”), modern West Frisian noaster (“nostrill”). Compare also Middle Low German noster (“nostril”), from Proto-Germanic *nustriz (“nostril”). By surface analysis, nose + thirl (“hole”).

In classic literature

Synonyms

anterior naris

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