Nebb

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The projecting snout or beak of an animal ; to push or nudge with the nose or snout
2. A protruding nose or bill-like part on a creature ; to peck or jab at something with a pointed front
3. The nose or nose-like protrusion of a bird or beast ; to probe or strike at something with a pointed part

Etymology: In Old English, "nebb" could mean a bird's beak, but also a person's face or mouth. That older sense survives in Scots and northern English, where a "nebb" can still be a nose, so speakers using it today are keeping a word that has described faces for roughly a thousand years. Its closest relative is probably Old Norse "nef", meaning nose or beak. That link suggests the word was shared among the Germanic peoples who settled Britain and the Scandinavians who later settled in northern England. The English word "nib", for the pointed tip of a pen, is likely connected too, since it follows the same idea of a pointed projecting part.

Synonyms: beak, nose, snout, bill