Nostrils

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The paired external apertures of the nose function as conduits for airflow in respiration and are essential for detecting odors
2. These openings on each side of the nose enable both breathing and the ability to perceive smells
3. The two openings at the nose's base that allow air to enter and facilitate the sense of smell

Etymology: "Nostrils" is the plural of "nostril", and the singular is the older and more revealing of the two. It comes from Old English "nosþyrel", built from "nose" and "þyrel", meaning a hole or opening. So the word has always said exactly what it means: a nose-hole. The second element survives in English as "thirl", an old word for a hole or perforation, which is why "nostril" looks like a compound of "nose" and "thirl" when you take it apart. The same pattern appears across the Germanic languages. Old Frisian had "nosterle", West Frisian today has "noaster", and Middle Low German had "noster", all meaning nostril. They point back to a shared Proto-Germanic form, "*nustriz", so the word is inherited from a very early stage of the family rather than borrowed from Latin or French.

Synonyms: nasal passages, nose openings, nares