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Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
nostril
noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ VERB
fill
▪ An oily fish smell fills your nostrils.
▪ The sharp, acrid male smell which rose from his hot skin filled my nostrils.
▪ The smell of growing is everywhere, filling our nostrils with a kind of mist.
flare
▪ Dad was flaring his nostrils and giving him a wild stare.
▪ He flared his nostrils at her, a sign of affection.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ And her nostrils caught the smell of charring wood.
▪ Her almost flat nose tended to widen at the nostrils, flaring over a tidal wave of a mouth.
▪ In front there were two eyes and a single central nostril, like that of a lamprey.
▪ Magee could feel it clogging his nostrils.
▪ She pokes the other end inside her nostril.
▪ There were two cavernous nostrils and Nuadu realised that this was the reason for the hissing whispering voice.
▪ When she came to, the acrid tingling of sal volatile was in her nostrils.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Nostril

Nostril \Nos"tril\, n. [OE. nosethril, nosethirl, AS. nos[thorn]yrl; nos for nosu nose + [thorn]yrel opening, hole, from [thorn]yrel pierced, for [thorn]yrhel, fr. purh through.

  1. (Anat.) One of the external openings of the nose, which give passage to the air breathed and to secretions from the nose and eyes; one of the anterior nares.

    Note: In sperm whales, porpoises, and allied animals, there is only one nostril, which is situated on the top of the head and called a spiracle.

  2. Perception; insight; acuteness. [Obs.]

    Methinks a man Of your sagacity and clear nostril should Have made another choice.
    --B. Jonson.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
nostril

Old English nosþyrl, nosðirl, literally "the hole of the nose," from nosu "nose" (see nose (n.)) + þyrel "hole" (see thrill (v.)).

Wiktionary
nostril

n. Either of the two orifices located on the nose (or on the beak of a bird); used as a passage for air and other gases to travel the nasal passages.

WordNet
nostril

n. either one of the two external openings to the nasal cavity in the nose [syn: anterior naris]

Wikipedia
Nostril

A nostril (or naris , plural nares ) is one of the two channels of the nose, from the point where they bifurcate to the external opening. In birds and mammals, they contain branched bones or cartilages called turbinates, whose function is to warm air on inhalation and remove moisture on exhalation. Fish do not breathe through their noses, but they do have two small holes used for smelling, which may, indeed, be called nostrils.

The Procellariiformes are distinguished from other birds by having tubular extensions of their nostrils.

In humans, the nasal cycle is the normal ultradian cycle of each nostril's blood vessels becoming engorged in swelling, then shrinking.

The nostrils are separated by the septum. The septum can sometimes be deviated, causing one nostril to appear larger than the other. With extreme damage to the septum and columella, the two nostrils are no longer separated and form a single larger external opening.

Like other tetrapods, humans have two external nostrils (anterior nares) and two additional nostrils at the back of the nasal cavity, inside the head (posterior nares, posterior nasal apertures or choanae). Each choana contains approximately 1000 strands of nasal hair. They also connect the nose to the throat (the nasopharynx), aiding in respiration. Though all four nostrils were on the outside the head of our fish ancestors, the nostrils for outgoing water (excurrent nostrils) migrated to the inside of the mouth, as evidenced by the discovery of Kenichthys campbelli, a 395-million-year-old fossilized fish which shows this migration in progress. It has two nostrils between its front teeth, similar to human embryos at an early stage. If these fail to join up, the result is a cleft palate.

It is possible for humans to smell different olfactory inputs in the two nostrils and experience a perceptual rivalry akin to that of binocular rivalry when there are two different inputs to the two eyes.

Usage examples of "nostril".

Nicholson mentions a case of ulceration and abscess of the nostrils and face from which maggots were discharged.

The juice of the root is very acrid when sniffed up the nostrils, and causes a copious flow of water therefrom, thus giving marked relief for obstinate congestive headache of a dull, passive sort.

One treatment that was administered for nasal catarrh, from which I continued to be affected, caused erosion of the mucous membrane, and destruction of the bony septum which separates the two nostrils.

Red Indian chief in full war- paint, the lined lips compressed to a thread, eyes wrinkled, nostrils aflare, and the whole face lit by so naked a passion of hate that I started.

The electrical smell of the ship came into his nostrils, a brew of cooking oil, ozone, diesel fuel, cleaning solution, and amines, the perfume of it filling him with nostalgia.

His nostrils filled with the ammoniac stench of the pigs, his ears bombarded with their squealing.

Once Cormac had blown through his nostrils like a tracking hound, Samaire and Bas did the same.

His nostrils flared slightly each time the hated name was mentioned, but otherwise he executed well his role of bondsman, and it seemed as if this exchange were simply over his head.

With his sensitive nostrils it was not particularly difficult for Bozo to track the Yathoon and their beasts through the maze of the foothills which rose before the soaring rampart of the Black Mountains.

His jaw muscles bunch and his nostrils flare and pinch at a dreamed whiff of cadaverine breath.

Jim flared its cloggy nostrils at me and lowered its front from the overstuffed armchair.

The brocaded figure, cross-legged before the biggest pavilion, watched keepers and cowardies move about the tents and cages, listened to the soft animal sounds and breathed through bean-wide nostrils the pattern of smells that reveal the well-regulated menagerie.

We had reached the shore, warm, welcoming lights glowed from the dahabeeyah and the aroma of roasting mutton wafted to our nostrils.

He elbowed his son and nodded his head so vigorously that it seemed that the dewdrop must leave his nose for ever, but it stuck like gum, swinging backwards and forwards clanging against his nostrils.

Old Cooper who dealt with insurance came into the room at his doddery pace and looked at the mess with cross disgust and pinched nostrils.