Nosethirl

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An archaic or dialect word for one of the two openings of the nose through which air passes
2. The old name for either of the paired external openings of the nose used for breathing and smelling
3. A dialect term for a nostril, the opening in the nose that lets air in and out for breathing

Etymology: "Nosethirl" is a plain compound: "nose" joined to "thirl," a word that once meant a hole or opening pierced through something. In Old English, "thyrel" (related to "thirl," to pierce) referred to an aperture, the same root that gave us the verb "thirl," meaning to bore or pierce. Putting the two together produced a term for the passage in the face that air moves through. The word is recorded in Middle English, and it sits alongside its close relative "nostril," which takes a different route to the same idea. Both words describe the same openings, but "nosethirl" keeps the older, more transparent construction, with the second element still visibly working as a piercing or boring hole. "Nostril" is the one that survived in standard English, while "nosethirl" faded from common use.

Synonyms: nostril, naris