Wordwyrt

nostril

/ˈnɒstɹɪl/NO-stril
/ˈnɑstɹɪl/NAH-stril

Meaningnose-hole

Common meaning: either opening of the nose

‘nose’ + ‘hole’ → nostril

Journey through time

Neither part’s path through time is traced in our sources yet; each root is shown from its dictionary entry.

  • nos — Old English nosu “nose” (dictionary form; path not traced)
  • tril — Old English þyrel “hole” (dictionary form; path not traced)

Parts join in Old English as nosþyrel.

  1. Old Englishnosþyrel‘nose-hole’sourceB&T
  2. Middle Englishnosethirlsource
  3. Englishmeaning shiftsnose-hole → either opening of the nosenostril‘either opening of the nose’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Old English nosu + þyrel ‘nose + hole’.

Source words

Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app